


Puppy Love

by I_Make_Arrows



Series: Rainbow Hair Clip [3]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discovery, F/F, F/M, Family, First Dates, Fluff, Homesickness, Illustrations, Kissing, Romance, Slice of Life, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29607054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Make_Arrows/pseuds/I_Make_Arrows
Summary: With new glyphs to try, a puppy to keep an eye on, and an ancient elemental discovered, there's been so much to keep Luz busy and stop her from thinking about going home. Now the date is upon her and her girlfriend does everything she can to cheer her up. Meanwhile, Eda and King handle their slipperiest opponent yet, and Lilith tries to figure out dating after thirty years out of the game.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: Rainbow Hair Clip [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065347
Comments: 105
Kudos: 195





	1. Small Steps

** **

** Chapter 1 - Small Steps  
** _In which a question is withdrawn, Luz wields a dagger, and Belos’ identity is speculated._

* * *

_Powdered ashwood seeds? No, that would give the right strength but not the right elasticity… Maybe griffin down? I’m still not sure…_ Amity frowned down at her Abominations homework, frustrated at a difficult problem before a thought occurred to her and she held in a huff of laughter. _Maybe I should just add eye of newt. Mom always seems to think that’ll work. Must be an older witch thing._ A muffled cough next to her caught her attention, and she looked up to see Eda the Owl Lady herself leaning back from her work, a fist held to her mouth.

The older witch continued the fakest sounding coughing fit Amity had ever heard, getting out a strangled “trash slug spore” in the midst of it. The witchling looked back down at her work. _It would add the right elasticity, it's resistant to corrosion, that could work!_ A pause. _I totally could have thought of that if she’d given me another minute._ She levelled a half-hearted glare at Eda as the witch sat back on her couch, fashionably dressed in her comfiest pyjamas, with her hair tied back and a pile of glyph papers in her hands.

Lilith, seated across from them in an armchair, seemed to echo Amity’s thoughts. “Edalyn, what’s the point of doing homework if you do it for them?” She had drawn her knees up to her chest and was sitting sideways, comparing two papers through her glasses. 

Eda snorted. “There isn’t one, same as homework in general. Remember kid,” she addressed Amity, “you earned that shirt. Don’t give it up for _homework_.” She scoffed on the last word.

Amity had to grin at that, glancing down at the oversized, crudely drawn and _wickedly comfortable_ shirt she was wearing. Featuring an image of Eda riding her staff on the front, it proudly proclaimed her membership in the Bad Girl Coven. 

A giggle next to her drew Amity’s attention away, and she found her grin widening as she glanced at Luz. Her girlfriend was sitting next to her, comfortably pressed against her side as the two of them both worked on their own projects. While Amity was working on some advanced Abominations formulas, Luz had soldiered through all of her schoolwork earlier in the day, the promise of another group glyph session too good to pass up. Even Amity kept an ear out when the human spoke, unable to contain her scholarly curiosity. It was one of the few things she shared with her father, and while he was a stern man he’d always approved of her thirst for knowledge. 

Across the room Leodoris and King lay against each other, dead to the world and dreaming fitfully. Occasionally, one or the other of them would kick a leg absently. The elemental puppy had settled into the Owl House wonderfully, and Luz had even caught Eda cooing at it and tickling its belly at one point. There was a vague sense of concern regarding exactly how big the puppy would grow - over the past few weeks it’d already reached King’s size. If it grew to its progenitor’s proportions then things could get problematic. For now, it was still small enough to scrabble into all the hiding places King was educating it in and it sleepily lifted its head up at the sound of Luz’s voice, scrubbing at a stubby antler with one leafy paw. 

“Be nice Eda! Hexside has a lot to teach us, and Amity is already super powerful. Unless that is, _you_ want to take over our education full time?” Luz’s tone turned sugary sweet towards the end, and Eda’s shoulders hunched up around her ears.

“Oh, uh, well, huh would you look at that, these glyphs need my attention…” she mumbled as she held the papers up to cover her face.

Luz snorted in amusement as she turned back to her own work, but not before throwing a quick wink at Amity. The witchling blushed – she was beginning to think she’d never grow out of that – but managed to wink back.

The afternoon progressed into evening, and Amity finished her work just in time to engage in a lively discussion of the newest advances in glyph casting. Since their adventure in the Bonewilds, all three of the Owl House witches had been working on both changing the effect of their glyphs with intent, and mastering their new interface glyph. The shock glyph had been a challenge at first, but they’d soon realised that it relied heavily on their intent as well. After some experimentation they had declared it mastered, each of them able to express it in different ways, from a small bolt of electricity to a stunning numbness when used against someone else. 

Their other glyphs had proven more challenging to adapt. Lilith had theorised that it was because they already _expected_ them to act a certain way, which made changing their effect more difficult. Luz had made the most progress so far, surprising all of them. Though there was no denying the human’s skill with glyphs, intent casting was closer to standard magic than anything else and all of them had expected the two most experienced witches to pick it up quickly. Once again, Luz had proved that there was something about glyphs she just _got_. She’d gone back to basics on her light glyph first, mastering her sticky light before brainstorming some more uses. It wasn’t until King mentioned one of the first times she had used it – to knock out a transformed Eda – that she realised it could be used as a blinding flash.

This had led to another surprising discovery, as Luz wasted sheet after sheet of paper trying to replicate the effects and only managed a much smaller shine, still unpleasant but nothing like the burning brightness of their first attempt. Even using a larger sheet of paper, or several of them stuck together, couldn’t get the effect as bright. When they finally discovered the reason, they were all floored by the possibilities. The massive brightness of the earlier glyph hadn’t been entirely because of their intent, or its size. _How_ the glyph was drawn and _what_ it was drawn on affected its power.

_The medium of the glyph empowered it._

Luz had immediately spent the rest of the day testing out every surface she could find and every method of drawing she could think of to test _everything_. Drawing a light glyph on stone didn’t create an orb, but made the stone glow for a long time, albeit dimmer than average. Drawing in dirt seemed to weaken a glyph’s effects when compared to the same size on paper – but drawing in _mud_ had empowered their plant glyph. Drawing an ice glyph with water hadn’t had any effect at all, but painting it had chilled the whole house for ten minutes – but only with blue paint! The possibilities seemed almost literally endless, and Luz couldn’t have been happier with the whole realm of magical possibility opening up before her. 

After finding Luz in an argument with Hooty, trying to convince him to let her chisel a glyph into his walls, Eda had declared that glyph medium research was to be put aside for a couple of days so they could focus on the interface glyph. She’d even roped in Amity to help keep Luz focussed, though whether the human’s girlfriend had that effect on her was debatable. 

That had led to more experimentation and practice, now focused on their new interface glyph. It had taken a lot of Luz’s patience to resist using it with Leodoris, but she remembered some of Surge’s parting words as the ancient witchwolf had advised them on the puppy’s care. _Be sure not to use this glyph to speak with it for seven days. It will be no danger to it then, but using it now would be like shouting in an infant’s ear. Its magic is fresh._ When the seventh day had finally come she had been beside herself with excitement, even inviting Amity, Gus and Willow over to share the moment. She’d drawn a large interface glyph just in front of the house, and they had placed Leo inside it as they tried to speak. The experience had been rather anticlimactic – though excited at all the new thoughts and wagging its tail madly, the puppy didn’t seem able to respond just yet. Any of its sendings were weak or fuzzy, and it didn’t really express anything other than what it was feeling in the moment. The only firm thought they’d gotten from it had been when it’d happily run over to King and licked the small demon’s face, each of them hearing a chirpy, springy voice in their heads like the first sprout of the season, a little heartbeat of warmth. _King!_

The little demon had broken down into tears and wouldn’t stop sobbing and hugging Leo for a good while after that, Luz not far behind him. 

Since then Luz had been tirelessly trying to teach it new words and ideas, using it as an excuse to work on her interface glyph drawing skills as she did. She needed the practice – it was a little more complex than the other glyphs and it took a bit to get the lines just right. Now they’d gotten Leo a few words, and the puppy seemed to have an idea of what each of them were called. Despite Luz’s constant attempts otherwise – “ _Mamí_ , can you say _mamí_ Leo?” – it’d settled on simply calling her _Warm_ for now, which was just cute enough that she’d let it slide, after bursting into tears again. Amusingly it’d settled on _Tickle_ for Eda, and for reasons that none of them could get from the tight-lipped witch it’d started calling Lilith _Silly_. The only other name it’d gotten right was _Hooty_ , but honestly that had made perfect sense to each of them and they hadn’t questioned it. 

Now they were finally trying to figure out just what else the interface glyph might be able to do, even Amity – _Soft_ as Leo had dubbed her – throwing out some ideas.

“So it doesn’t work at all when you try to talk to King or Hooty?” she asked, legs tucked up beside her as she leaned against Luz.

The human waggled her hand back and forth. “Ehhhh. Not as well as it did with Surge. We get even vaguer impressions, if anything. It’s sort of like getting the messages through a fog. I think it might be because we can already communicate with them, so the glyph doesn’t have much of a gap to bridge? This thing is hard to unravel.”

“Well, start from the top. That’s how I always figure out a new spell. What does it actually _do_?”

Luz frowned, considering her answer, but Amity shook her head. “No, not what you _think_ it does. What have you _observed_ it doing?”

Blinking at the incongruity of hearing the scientific process from a witch, Luz answered. “It’s allowed communication between different creatures. Some more than others.”

Amity nodded. “Anything else?”

Luz shook her head, but Eda spoke up. “Luz. Keep thinking,” she said, before making an annoyed hiss as she botched one of her glyphs.

“Oh yeah!” Luz’s head shot up. “I drew a big one outside once, right before we used it for Leo actually. I activated it just to see if anything would happen, and it was weird. It didn’t do anything, but also sorta did? You remember how when we were in the coven ruins you said it felt like you were being watched, but not really?” Amity nodded. “It was kinda like that, maybe? Like there was something _more_ there, but I couldn’t really figure it out.” She shrugged. “That’s everything it’s done so far.”

“Okay…” Amity took this information on board, not noticing Luz’s eyes grow sparkly at the little furrow in her brow. “Well that’s a bit too vague for us to get anything from, so let’s shelve that information for now. What we know is that it somehow allows us to communicate with other beings.”

“Not witches,” said Lilith, sipping at her drink. She elaborated when Amity raised an eyebrow. “We’ve tried using it with each other, there’s no connection at all. No words, impressions, nothing. Nor between human and witch.”

“And it sucks!” Luz threw her hands up dramatically. “I was totally gonna use it to make us all walkie-talkies. Glyphie-talkies.” At their blank looks, she bent back over the papers, grumbling about human references.

Amity kept turning over the problem. “It worked especially well with Surge. It works with Leo. It doesn’t really work with King or Hooty, and it seems that witches are exempt entirely…” There was really only one answer she could think of. “It… kinda sounds like it’s letting you communicate with magic.“

“Ha!” crowed Eda. “I knew she’d agree with me! Cough up, ten snails each!”

“Edalyn, none of us took you up on that bet.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

At Amity’s flat look, Luz sheepishly explained. “We’ve talked this through a little ourselves, but wanted your opinion as well. Eda was sure you’d agree with her.”

The victorious older witch held up a hand, and Amity returned the high five with a soft laugh. “Well she’s right, I think. It sounds like it’s just… well, letting you speak with the magic of things. That’s actually pretty amazing.”

Luz wrapped her arm around Amity and squeezed her close for a moment, before continuing her explanations, everything she thought or anything the older witches had come up with. Amity listened interestedly, but it sounded like the group had come up against the wall for the time being. 

When Luz circled back to the same point for the third time, Eda dropped her papers to her lap in defeat. “Okay kiddo, we know you’re excited but this ain’t getting us anywhere and I think I’m getting a headache. Howsabout we talk about something else?” Her eyes glittered mischievously as they slowly wandered over to land on Lilith, the older Clawthorne sinking further into her chair. “Like, for example, how someone’s date went recently, hmmm?”

“Wait!” Luz shot bolt upright, startling Amity as her head whipped around to look at Lilith. “That’s okay to talk about?! You never said anything, I thought it went badly and you didn’t want to talk about it!”

From behind her shield of glyph papers, Lilith groaned softly. “Pass.”

Luz reversed her angle of attack, focussing her attention on Eda. “ _Why_ am I only hearing about this _now_? Her date was like, weeks ago!” She threw up her hands in excitement.

Ignoring Lilith’s half-hearted glare, Eda preened. “Be-caaaaaause, I only thought of it today! When a certain _someone_ told me they had another date with a certain _host demon_ in a few days!”

“WHAT.” Luz gaped at first Eda, then Lilith, even Amity sitting up in interest.

Lilith groaned again. “Eda- _lyyyyyyn_.”

The Owl Lady snorted in amusement, not a trace of remorse on her features. “She told _me_ the details because I get the sister privilege. Her time limit to tell you two by herself has now officially run out, so Lily? Either you give them the story, or I will!”

Lilith’s head shot up. “You wouldn’t _dare_.”

Eda arched an eyebrow, her look screaming ‘do-you-even-know-me?’ She cleared her throat. “Okay, so after Miss Fussybritches spends approximately three eons in the bathroom, she-“

“Okay, okay, enough! Point taken!” Flushing red to the tips of her ears, Lilith swung her legs to the ground, running a hand through her increasingly poofy hair. She’d kept up her maintenance routine for some time, but honestly it was quite exhausting. And, well… who did she have to impress anymore? The only one that came to mind didn’t seem to mind how her hair looked.

Speaking of… “Okay, I’ll tell you but there’s nothing really to tell. I went to Lazarus’ restaurant and we ate together in one of his private dining rooms. We were left alone for the evening – he apparently told his staff not to bother him unless an emergency grew into a catastrophe.”

There was a pause. A long, silent pause, during which Lilith looked steadily more and more uncomfortable. 

Amity broke the silence. “And?”

“And what?” said Lilith.

Luz groaned aloud as Amity continued. “And everything! What did you have? What did you talk about? Was it nice? Was _he_ nice?”

“Lazarus has always been a perfect gentleman!” said Lilith, looking a touch offended on the big demon’s behalf. She spoiled the effect by muttering “…mostly,” to herself. 

“Details, sister!” cackled Eda.

Amity kept up her questions. “Did you go into the gardens? Did he keep calling you Waterlily? Oh, did you hold hands?”

“DID YOU KISS??”

The loud question startled the increasingly flustered older witch, as she turned to see King awake and alert, standing atop the coffee table. She almost missed the loud “Thank you!” from Luz as the human threw her arms towards King, not breaking eye contact with Lilith.

The demon took no prisoners. “Answer the question! I am not merely the king of demons, but the king of romance! I can help you in your quest to seduce this guy!”

Lilith blushed scarlet to the roots of her hair. “ _Seduce?_ I don’t – you have _entirely_ the wrong – “

Her stammered denials went utterly unheard by her audience. Eda was wheezing as she hung over the arm of the couch, wiping at her eyes. King kept creeping closer and closer, demanding answers with Luz’s enthusiastic support. Even Amity was no help, the witchling watching in quiet amusement as she waited expectantly for answers.

“Alright, alright!” Lilith held up both hands to fend off her interrogators, cheeks still glowing. “We… we talked a lot. About some of the times we’ve had together. Ourselves. He wanted to know a lot about me, and how my… situation has changed.” Talking about her fall from grace from the coven was always a sensitive subject. “Lazarus was very kind. He’s always been that way. He….” 

“Yesssss?” asked Luz, leaning in.

Looking terribly embarrassed, Lilith admitted, “He held my hand when the story became… difficult.”

“Awwwwww,” came the chorus from three mouths.

Clearing her throat, Lilith tried to get it over with. “Yes, he called me Waterlily. He’s called me that for so long I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he’s forgotten my actual name.”

Amity was entirely too curious about this new, softer side of her old mentor. “Did you go into the gardens?”

Lilith looked away. “Yes, we… walked.”

A sparkle of mischief glinted in the Blight’s eye. “Just walked, huh?”

A dark, imperious eyebrow slowly raised. “Did you and Luz just walk?”

Amity’s eyes widened as her cheeks flushed. “I um, withdraw my question.”

Lilith nodded once in satisfaction. “All in all it was a lovely evening, and when he asked if I’d like to do something again I didn’t hesitate to say yes.”

“Awww, congratulations Lilith!” Luz moved over and wrapped her arms around the surprised witch, King a step behind. “We’re all so happy for you!” Lilith smiled and moved to place her arms around the pair as well, feeling warmth surge inside her as Amity gently added herself to the group hug. 

When they pulled back the older Clawthorne was a little misty eyed, and Eda was watching her proudly. _They grow up so fast. One minute they’re cursing people and being the emperor’s lackey, the next they’re going on dates and getting group hugs._

“So where are you going next time? Do you need any help with ideas?” asked King, his tail wagging slightly. “Oh, let me go get my date ideas book!”

Blissfully unaware of Luz’s sudden, hidden intention to _find that book_ , Lilith stopped King short. “That won’t be necessary. I have already decided. We are going to pack a picnic, and I was intending to take him to the coven ruins to meet Surge.” 

They’d all visited Surge again recently, but Lilith had done her level best to visit him as often as possible. Eda had privately thought her sister was desperate for something to fill her time, some new purpose, but hadn’t seen the need to voice that aloud. Frankly she approved of the sentiment, and there were worse things to put your time towards than exploring an ancient coven site. “Mmm, I think the big guy would like that,” she said, stretching her legs out.

“Which big guy?” asked Lilith.

Eda grinned. “Either of them.” The sisters shared a laugh. They’d been doing that more often recently. It was… nice.

While Luz kept trying to grill her sister for information – _Honestly, she has a girlfriend now. How much romance is enough for this girl?_ – a yawn from Amity caught Eda’s eye. “As much as I like to see Lily being uncomfortable, it’s getting pretty late.”

Amity gracefully took the hint, nodding sadly. “Yeah, I should probably head home.”

“Awww man…” said Luz, mood dropping. “I wish the night was longer.”

Amity smiled and squeezed her hand. “Me too.”

The girls quickly went upstairs, Luz gathering up Amity’s things while the witchling stepped into the bathroom to change out of her Bad Girl Coven shirt. As comfortable as it was, she would have a hard time explaining that one to her parents. They met the older witches downstairs, Lilith wishing Amity a fond goodnight and squeezing her shoulder briefly before taking the glyph supplies and moving off into the kitchen. Luz approached Eda to borrow Owlbert, but the Owl Lady shook her head.

“Not this time kiddo. I need to pick something up while I’m out, so I’ll drop Baby Blight off.”

“Aw farts,” said Luz, making the witch snort as she stepped out the front door, giving them a semblance of privacy. King had followed Lilith into the kitchen spouting date advice, and Leodoris remained curled up on the floor, his eyes lazily blinking open to check up on people whenever he heard movement.

“See you at school tomorrow?” Luz half asked.

Amity smiled. It never failed to make her feel warm inside when Luz got sad as she left. She could relate – she felt the same way. It only added to the long list of confusing and conflicting feelings the girl gave her, and she couldn’t be happier about any of them. “Definitely.” After quickly glancing around, Amity leaned in and softly kissed Luz, lingering for long seconds. The human made a gentle sound of protest when she pulled back, but let her go. 

“You make saying goodbye really hard Blight.”

Amity giggled as she turned towards the front door, ears twitching. “See you in your dreams, Noceda.” How flustered Luz got when she winked at her was entirely too much entertainment.

Outside Eda waited patiently, sitting on her staff and looking up at the sky. She turned and patted the spot behind her as Amity stepped out. “Okay, climb aboard kiddo. Let’s get you back home.”

Amity shuffled up behind her and they took to the skies, flying easily through the cool night. In all the time she’d spent with Luz she’d flown with Eda on a few occasions, so it wasn’t awkward as she wrapped her arms around the older witches’ waist.

“So, I actually wanted to fly you home for a reason kid.”

The quiet statement caught Amity’s attention. “Yeah, to pick something up?”

Eda snorted. “Nah, that was just to throw Luz off the trail. Kid is too quick for her own good.” She paused for a moment, considering. “In a few days, Luz is due to head back to the human world.”

The words hit Amity like a blow to the stomach, knocking the wind right out of her. _Oh. Wow. I… I hadn’t thought of that at all._ Fear, sadness and worst of all _guilt_ rolled through her. _She has to leave. I…_

Wilfully or otherwise, Eda seemed ignorant of Amity’s feelings. “Obviously this isn’t something that’s gonna happen anymore. No portal. So… she’s stuck here.” There was a long pause. “Between you and me, I think she’s getting a little bit used to that idea. It hit her pretty hard at first, but… Well, you’ve seen how easily she’s adjusted to life here. It suits her. I think the only thing she’ll really miss is her…”

Amity knew what was going unspoken. _Her mother_. That was a complicated problem. Her own mother had always been difficult. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her, or that she felt unloved, it was just that there was a distance there. From what Luz had said the dynamic between her and her own mother was utterly different, much closer and warmer, even if the two didn’t see eye to eye on Luz’s interests. But most complicated of all was the note of utterly maternal concern in Eda’s voice. 

It wasn’t spoken of. It wasn’t acknowledged. But Amity _knew_ that the Owl Lady and Luz cared for each other. Deeply. Stronger than friends, stronger than the bond between a master and an apprentice, almost like they were…

Well. That was none of Amity’s business.

“Anyway. We haven’t given up on figuring out the portal problem, but there’s no telling how long that might take us. For now, the kid is stuck here. Maybe for a while. Maybe a long while.” She turned her head and a single, golden eye looked back at Amity. “I think it might be a tough day for her. So, as her girlfriend and official Luz cheerer-upper, I am hereby making it your problem.”

Amity blinked. “What?”

Eda grinned. “She’s your girlfriend kiddo, so you’ve gotta figure it out. Just do something nice for her, distract her for the day. Don’t let her dwell on things. I can help out if you need, but I figured this one should be your party.”

“Oh. Okay, um. Yeah.” Amity took a moment to process all of that, but there was never any doubt as to her decision. She only had to think of Luz, of her warm hands, smiling face, perfect, gorgeous brown eyes… “I’ll do it. No sweat.” She already felt some ideas coming to her, and a smile spread across her face. “Anything to make her happy.”

“That’s the spirit!” Eda was grinning now, turning back to the front to continue their flight. She only glanced back once more. “You’re good for her.”

Amity spent the rest of the flight in blushing silence.

* * *

Luz tiredly blinked her eyes as she scrolled slowly through Penstagram, nothing holding her attention. Though the sun was well up she was still curled in her bed, a couple of extra blankets thrown in for good measure and her plush seasel clutched in her arm, hugging her right back. She’d even slowly reached a hand out from her cocoon to drag in her witches’ wool cloak, wanting an extra layer of comfort today. Deep inside her was a flicker of regret for not bringing it along to the coven ruins with her – it wasn’t the first time she’d had the same thought – but it couldn’t break through the smothering layer of depression that hung over her. Disinterested, lethargic, all Luz could think was one thing.

She should be going home today.

It was a bitter thought. Home… her mother… Thoughts of the Owl House, of Eda, swirled through her head. 

_Míja, I love your creativity, but it’s gotten out of hand._

_Ah, baby's first wanted poster. Good job, kid._

She knew – she _knew_ – that Eda was doing her best to figure out a solution to the problem. The witch often stayed up late, pouring over books that looked older than she was. More than a few times Luz had stepped away and taken a few quiet moments to gather herself, wiping her eyes and hating being unable to help. 

But today she just couldn’t find-

She just couldn’t-

She just couldn’t.

Professional grudgby replays. Scroll. Latest Boiling Isles fashion. Scroll. Is Emperor Belos a lizard person? Scroll. 

Reflexively she checked her messages, but there was nothing new. She almost typed something out to Amity but felt something curl inside her. She already felt bad enough about keeping her girlfriend up so late last night, texting back and forth with increasingly desperate and nonsense topics. Amity had never said she needed to go – she was too nice for that – but Luz saw her messages get shorter and sloppier, until she finally wished the witchling a good night and faced the time alone. She’d dozed in fits and spurts, and exhaustion clung to her. 

Leodoris and King had been comforts, both curling up towards the foot of her bed the previous night and providing her company. King especially had done everything he could to make her feel better, but had eventually relented earlier that morning, realising she preferred to be left alone. The little elemental was a different story – when King had moved off he’d grumbled awake and slowly wormed his way up towards Luz, licking her face before resting in her arms for a while. He was still there, asleep near her feet with one of his legs idly kicking from time to time. He… helped, but it wasn’t enough.

Eda had quietly knocked on her door earlier, not asking her anything but just letting her know that she was up and that Luz could come downstairs for some breakfast if she wanted. She loved the older witch for everything she had done for her, loved her like-

_hurt_

She clenched her eyes shut and groaned softly, her next wave of tears only held at bay by another quiet knock on the door. 

“Luz, sweetie?” It was Eda again. When did she learn to make her voice soft like that? “You have a visitor.”

A flicker of curiosity sparked under the layer of bleakness but couldn’t push through. She considered just not saying anything, but she’d been taught better manners than that by-

_pain_

“I-“ she cut herself off, swallowing. Her voice was rough, her mouth dry. “I don’t really want to see anyone today please.”

“That’s what I told her, but I’m afraid she insisted.” The door slowly swung open, Luz pulling the blankets up higher before her eyes widened in surprise. Standing in the doorway, her hands clasped before her and a blindfold tied over her eyes, was Amity.

“Amity?” The name came out high pitched, squeaky. Luz felt fresh tears, and wasn’t even certain why. Leodoris rapidly scrambled to its feet and bounded over to her, pressing up against her legs.

Amity’s smile was soft, and sad, and comforting. “Hi Luz.” She reached down and patted Leo, smile widening for a moment as Eda retreated, giving the pair some privacy. “Eda… told me what today is. I don’t know about you but I probably wouldn’t want to be seen, so I thought…” She reached up and gently tapped the blindfold. 

“It’s… okay,” croaked out Luz, sitting up slightly and rubbing at her eyes.

Her tone made Amity’s chest ache, and she took a step further in, her normal black dress swishing around her legs. “I don’t want you to be so upset, but you have a right to your feelings. Sometimes you need to feel things and let them happen, and I understand that. But… if you’ll let me, I want to help you today. I’ve planned a few fun things for us to do.” Time for the secret weapon. “Surprises for you.” Her smile widened slightly under the strip of cloth around her eyes. “I really think you’ll enjoy them. But, if you don’t want to do anything today I’ll understand, and won’t push you at all. I…” She shuffled her feet. “I just want you to be okay.”

Luz was silent. She was silent for long enough that Amity started twitching, clasping her hands together nervously and feeling a drop of sweat roll down her neck. Just as she was about to excuse herself – a rejection from Luz would sting, it would always sting, but it was an acceptable loss today – her girlfriend quietly spoke.

“What kind of surprises?”

A few minutes later Amity quietly shut the door to Luz’s bedroom behind her, blindfold in hand and a smile on her face. Eda quickly moved over to her, clutching her staff and feeling herself age rapidly from worry. King was at her heels, the demon’s face creased with concern. 

“Well? How is she?” _I remember when I used to actually laugh at people acting like this._

Amity smiled at her. “She’s… not great, but she’s agreed to head out for a little while.”

“Oh, whew.” King wiped his brow.

“Thank the _Titan_ ,” gasped Eda, almost dizzy with relief. “I knew sending you in there was the right thing to do.” Amity flushed in embarrassment and the three moved downstairs, Amity taking a seat on the couch as Eda rustled up a mug of apple blood, finally able to enjoy her creature comfort after the worry of the morning. King perched himself in the sunlight under the windowsill but kept an eye out. A few minutes later the floor creaked as Leodoris proceeded Luz down the stairs, the girl looking a little under the weather but otherwise okay. Amity got to her feet, reaching out and enfolding Luz in a tight hug. The human clung on to her tightly, worrying her a little when she felt a slight tremble.

Luckily Eda came to the rescue. “Ew, feelings. Go on, out you two!” She shooed the pair towards the door and of all things managed to put a smile on Luz’s face. Eda’s pretend callousness was a well-worn joke between the pair of them. Hooty swung open with an exuberant greeting for everyone, launching into his usual morning report of everything that happened overnight. Unexpected by all, the house demon had proven to be a surprisingly good caretaker for Leodoris and kept an eye on the puppy as it gambolled off into the bushes around the house, rapidly sniffing. 

“So as it turns out my hunch was correct! The trees on _that_ side,” Hooty said, rolling his head one way. “Are in fact in ka-HOOTs with the ones on _that_ side,” a roll the other way, “meaning that we’re in the middle of a gang war! I suggest…” They left Hooty to his story, the demon content with nothing more than the ability to keep speaking.

“So, um… where are we going?” asked Luz, her smile dimmer than usual, but still there. 

_How can I feel so sad about what she’s dealing with, but so happy she’s still managing to smile?_ Amity laughed softly. “Nuh-huh, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

Luz grumbled at the thought but was distracted by another figure joining them on the porch. Lilith stepped out of the house, staff in hand and a cloak wrapped around her form. She was smiling gently and swept her gaze over all of them. “Good morning everyone.” She looked up at the sky, taking in the puffy clouds and warm sunshine. “A lovely day, isn’t it?” Aware of what was happening, Lilith had been at a loss as to what to do at first. A late-night nest-chat with Eda had given her the guidance she needed – just don’t mention it, don’t bring it up, don’t worry about it. The kid – no, the _other_ kid - has got this one.

Party pooper Eda couldn’t help herself, shrugging casually. “Eh, beats shale hale.” Lilith gave her a sour look, and even Luz shook her head in fond exasperation. 

Amity squeezed Luz’s hand. “So, are you ready to go?”

Luz nodded, before hesitating, her eyes flicking over to-

“Don’t you worry about it Luz,” Eda said, ten steps ahead of her apprentice. She whistled and Leo came running, his leaves ruffling with his steps as his legs all seemed to work independent of each other. He tripped and rolled to a rumpled stop at Eda’s feet, panting happily. “King and I will take care of this goofball for the day.” She pulled a foot from her bunny slipper and gently rubbed the puppy’s back, Leo rolling over to nip at her.

King watched sagely, pride in his eyes. “You know I taught him that. First you show your belly to lure them in, then BAM! You’ve got ‘em trapped. Learned it from the creatures on Luz’s wonder rectangle.” 

Luz smiled and let out a breath. “Okay.” She turned to Lilith, trying her best to sound like her normal self. “Are you involved in this too?” 

“No, actually.” Lilith started reddening. “I have a… prior engagement.”

Eda snorted. “Is that what you’re calling Lazarus now?”

“ _Edalyn_!” hissed Lilith, slapping at her arm as both girls perked up, King’s head whipping comically around. Lilith held up her hands placatingly at all their demands for information. “Calm yourselves. I’m going to meet him and then we are taking a day trip out to the coven.” They’d taken to calling the Bonewilds ruins ‘the coven’, all knowing what it meant amongst themselves. “He’s been curious about my stories and is very eager to meet Surge.” She smiled bashfully. “We’re going to have a picnic. I will make sure to tell you how it went this evening, alright?” Every day thawed the formerly uptight witch out a little more, and she got enthusiastic agreements from everyone, even Eda nodding firmly.

Finally they were all set to go, Amity and Luz declining a lift on Owlbert for a leisurely walk through the woods, Lilith settling astride her staff and Eda and King ushering Leo back inside. Just before they all parted ways Luz remembered something and dug into her pockets. “Oh, wait a sec!” She pulled out a small drawstring bag and emptied it into her hand. Inside were a few bracelets, each with a small stone orb attached to them. Upon close inspection, each orb had a miniature version of the interface glyph carved into it. She handed them out to each of them, slipping one over her wrist as she did. “I carved these yesterday! They’ll let each of us talk to Leo without needing to worry about drawing out the glyph each time! I don’t know if they’ll fade, but we can always do more.”

Eda made an understanding sound as she slid hers on. “Ah, that’s why you wanted a jag crystal knife.”

“If you mean that super sharp little dagger thing, then yes it is!” Her old enthusiasm bled through a little, and some tension unwound from Amity’s shoulders. The human knelt down and fixed one of the little orbs to a small collar they’d purchased for Leo. “Try them out!”

Frowning, Eda tried to _send_ her thoughts like she did using one of the larger glyphs, the small orb glowing softly. _Uhhh, can you hear me, little guy?_

 _Tickle?_ The little glyph on its collar lit up as its ears perked and it looked up at her. _TICKLE!!_ The puppy exploded into excited motion, wiggling back and forth on its back as its leafy tail frantically wagged back and forth. _Happy! Happy! Tickle happy!_

The entire group laughed, amused by the puppy’s antics. Luz was just pleased the glyph worked properly. _Leo, can you come to mamí?_

Legs waving in the air frantically, Leo quickly righted itself and turned this way and that, fixing on to Luz as she sent the thought again. _Warm! Love Warm!_

Luz’s breath caught as she gasped, freezing as Leo careened into her and reached up to lick her face. Tears started gathering in her eyes, her already strained emotions buckling under this newest development.

Amity quickly knelt down. “Luz, are you alright?” She frowned, and used her own glyph. _Leo, what did you say?_

The puppy, lost in its excitement, whipped its head around to try and lick her too. _Love Soft too! Love!_

Amity let out a breath as she wrapped an arm around Luz, a gentle coo escaping the human. “Oh wow.” Her ears twitched slightly and she felt her own eyes getting a bit misty. 

“Is everything alright?” Lilith raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with Eda.

Amity nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah, it’s fine. Leo just learned a new word, and I think he told Luz that he loves her.”

“Oooooooooh,” said Eda, Lillith and King in chorus, before kneeling down and trying to get Leo’s attention as well. They spent a few minutes distracting the puppy back and forth, its little tail wagging madly as it moved between them, exchanging thoughts and licking hands, faces, anything it could reach.

Eventually Amity almost had to drag Luz away from it, only succeeding with a vague mention of missing out on a surprise because they’d be late. The two set off down the path towards Bonesborough, Lilith wishing them all a goodbye as she flew off on her staff and Eda calling Leo back inside, King trying to get his bracelet to rest on his head like a crown.

“…Now obviously this means that the trees on the _other_ side of the house are going to be the next to host a tea party in the hopes of ending the violence hoot hoot, but we can’t rule out that they might be tricked by…” 

* * *

Closing the door behind her and letting out a sigh of relief at the muffling of Hooty’s monologue – honestly she loved him in her own way, but there was a _limit_ – Eda turned to smile down at the puppy trying to scrabble on to the couch. She’d never say a word about it, but it secretly reminded her of when King had been a bit smaller. _Need some help little guy?_ she sent.

Leo’s head turned her way. _Tickle!_ She had to laugh – it sounded frustrated. _Up!_

She walked over, shaking her head. “Aren’t you gonna help him up there, lazyskull?” she asked King as she bent over to help Leo climb up. The elemental let out a pleased little huff as it padded over to King’s curled up form, flopping gracelessly against his side. The jostled king of demons didn’t even crack an eye open.

“Eh, you got this. Helping Leo get places is for people with long arms. I help it get places _within._ ”

“Within huh?”

“Of course! Self-actualisation, realisation, imaginising! Visualise and attack, get that thing they sentcha!” He lazily waved an arm above him, and it was a coincidence it happened to land on Leo, patting its head.

Eda snorted as she flopped back on the couch herself, skilfully not spilling her apple blood as she stretched all her limbs out. Today was turning out pretty alright. The kid was doing better, she was out of the house, and best of all Eda actually had some free time to herself. Normally she’d be selling human treasures or brewing potions today, but with Lilith’s unexpected windfall she didn’t have to hustle anymore. She could just spend a day… existing. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, nice and relaxed. Now _that_ was Eda’s style. 

But what to do? She closed her eyes in thought as she took another slow sip of her drink, a hand idly reaching out to pet the nearest small body. _Theeeere it is, leaves. Or is that fur? Whatever, one of you is getting pet._ _Maybe I could cook something? Ehhh… I don’t really wanna get up. Crystal Ball?_ She turned the idea over for a moment. It had merit – no doubt King would change it to his sappy romance shows, but they were just the thing to put her to sleep and a nap sounded wonderful. But still, she thought she was missing something. _Ugh. I’m so used to having people around, now it’s hard to think when it’s_ quiet. The thought made her pause. _There’s no people around._

Subtly, she glanced over at King. A celebrated napper, the little demon was out like a light. She carefully reached for Owlbert, using his energy to cast a quick summoning spell. Her sharp ears picked out the quiet rustle from upstairs, the sound of the woven branches and twigs of her nest being disturbed as something wormed its way out from underneath. A small object, outlined in the glow of her magic, floated down the stairs to gently land in her lap. Grinning, she carefully opened the magazine. Luz didn’t know about this. Lilith probably suspected, but wouldn’t bring it up in an age. King almost certainly knew, and fervently wished he didn’t. With a broad grin, the Owl Lady crossed her legs, put her feet up on the coffee table, and opened to the first page. Her eyes lit up.

_Nice._

* * *

Luz idly swung their clasped hands back and forth as they walked quietly through the woods, enjoying the occasional bird song or demonic giggle from the undergrowth. Amity walked alongside her, glancing at her girlfriend from the corner of her eye and internally panicking.

_Oh wow, we’ve been quiet for so long. Should I say something? Do I talk about it? Or should I just try and talk about other things? Keep her distracted, try to make her stop dwelling on it?_ She closed her eyes briefly. _Stop overthinking. You did this for her, to get her out of the house and to stop worrying._ Just like that the answer came to her. It was heartening in a way – Luz always used to make her thoughts poof out of her ears, but the more time they spent together the more she felt she could handle it. 

Of course, that all went out the window if the girl was ever flirty. Amity didn’t think it would matter if they were both a million years old, every wink of those perfect brown eyes made her knees weak.

Eager to get that thought out of her head, Amity opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to mind. “So, glyph bracelets huh?” She could still feel the little orb against her skin. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just a new sensation. 

The opening brought a smile to Luz’s face. “Ya-huh! I had the idea from some stories I’ve read, they are always carving magical symbols and runes into this or that. So why not a glyph? Especially after we tried it with the light glyph the other day.” 

Amity hummed in agreement, eager to keep Luz talking. “How did you do it?”

The human shrugged. “It was actually easier than I thought it would be! Well… not easier, but less complicated. I tried a couple of other ways first, drawing on the rock, painting on the rock. They worked, but they still faded after a little bit.” She giggled. “Not that Leo minded. I had a treat to keep him interested and all he kept saying was ‘food’, ‘hungry’ and ‘treat’. I actually think he learned that last one while we were working.” Both of them shared a laugh at that, thinking fondly of the little elemental. “So I thought why not just carve it right into the stone? It was worth a try. I did it with a bigger rock first, after I got the shiny dagger thing from Eda. She seemed really happy when I asked for it, and I was kinda scared to pry into that.” Amity snorted in amusement. “When things worked out, I asked Lilith if she could make some little orbs from stone for me, and she pulled them right out of the rock I was working on. Maybe it works better ‘cos they all came from the same one?” She shrugged. “I don’t know, all I know right now is that it works, and that’s all we needed!” She let out a sigh, leaning against Amity for a second. “Leo is so cute.”

Amity giggled, leaning right back. “He sure is.” An urge struck her, and she quickly glanced up and down the path before lowering her head to Luz’s. She stopped short, suddenly nervous. _Oh wow, is this the right time to kiss her? She’s already not feeling the best today, I don’t-_

Luz pressed her lips to Amity’s, eyes closed and a hand rising to gently brush the Blight’s jaw. She pulled back with a happy hum, tugging on Amity’s hand to get her moving down the path. 

Amity grinned like an idiot, ears wiggling. _Okay yeah she’s doing okay all is well._

Luz was in fact already feeling a fair bit better, getting out of her room and occupying herself with things. Now she was actually trying to fill her mind with other thoughts, not just constantly circling a problem she had no answer to. “So where are we going then, hmmm?” she asked teasingly, squeezing Amity’s hand. “Somewhere in Bonesborough?”

“That’s our first stop,” said Amity teasingly, laughing at the human’s soft groan. 

“You know if I didn’t like surprises so much I would be grilling you _so hard_ for information right now.”

“Well, lucky for me you do, so you can hang in there cutie.” Amity’s eyes widened as her face flushed, her free hand flying to her mouth. Emira’s favourite little flirty term for messing with people had just slipped out. _I’ve never said that before in my life! Is that weird?! Oh Titan I hope that’s not weird._

To her relief, Luz was looking at her with what looked like a _blush_ on her face. “Oh wow, um, a-ha.” She stammered nervously for a moment and Amity’s confidence _soared_ at flustering the girl. “I guess I’ll hang in there then!”

A smirk falling into place, Amity began to tease Luz mercilessly as they entered the outskirts of Bonesborough, moving further in towards one of her favourite places. “Sorry cutie!” “Oh, you’re such a cutie.” “Do you like holding hands, _cutie_?” Luz felt almost like her body temperature was rising in increments each time the witch said it, and was _terrifyingly_ aware of how sweaty her palm must be. 

“This is _so_ not fair,” she weakly protested, as Amity turned them down another street. The witch laughed softly, squeezing Luz’s hand. “You have… you have _that_ ,” she couldn’t quite bring herself to say the word, “and your perfect fangs, and you _purr_. I need a cute name for you to mess with your head now!”

Finally seeing the sign she was after up ahead, Amity let out a giggle. “Well you’ve got allllll day to think of one, _cutie_.” To really seal the deal, she winked at her girlfriend. Luz let out a frustrated groan as Amity pulled her inside a small café, a sign hanging overhead proclaiming ‘The Redstone Bakery’.

* * *

Coming next week, **Chapter 2 - Medium Messages  
**_In which a Fish flies, a fear comes to life, and a monster fails to be extinct._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! (Looking for artists! Details below!)
> 
> We're back from the break with a new chapter of a cute little story called Puppy Love! This is intended to be something softer and cuter to read between the larger, adventurey stories. Puppy Love is just a bit bigger than the Messtival, so there's plenty to enjoy over the next few weeks. Look closely, because there are characters you've seen before, or hints for what's to come spread throughout. I encourage and welcome ALL wild theories.
> 
> Once again I want to say thank you to two wonderful groups of people. My beta readers, for making sure that everything is as it should be and is nice and up to snuff. And my amazing, talented artists for breathing such life into the project.  
> Title Card - Jessi - https://www.instagram.com/jessi.v_art/ - https://twitter.com/urbanbirdbud with Leodoris by Thomathy!  
> Baby's First Word - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305/  
> A Walk in the Woods - KatTheIndigoWolf - https://kattheindigowolf.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kattheindigowolf
> 
> And lastly, we are currently looking for more artists to get involved with the project! If you'd like to create some illustrations for Rainbow Hair Clip, please leave a comment and we can get in touch!


	2. Medium Messages

** Chapter 2 - Medium Messages  
** _In which a Fish flies, a fear comes to life, and a monster fails to be extinct._

* * *

**Author's Note - We are currently looking for more artists to get involved in the next story of the Rainbow Hair Clip Project!**

A smile grew on Lilith’s face as Lazarus’ restaurant swelled into view before her, happy to see the large figure of the demon himself standing on the front porch and giving some last-minute instructions to some of his workers. Her cloak streamed behind her as she came in for a landing, and the last of the staff disappeared inside. Lazarus turned to her with a broad smile in place, out of his usual suit and into more rugged clothing. A dark scarf wrapped around his neck, tucked into the collar of the grey, button down shirt he wore. It looked to be made of a particularly tough fabric and went wonderfully with his crimson fur – he always had been a snappy dresser. A long pair of trousers covered his legs to his ankles, in a soft purple colour. 

_I wonder if he had those made since we last spoke? I recall telling him of the colours of the Bonewilds…_ As she approached the big demon, she tried not to be too obvious as her eyes drifted over the rolled up sleeves of his shirt. The look was… rather appealing.

Lazarus had no such subtlety. “Waterlily!” He moved over to her in a few long strides and swept her up into his customary hug, hiding his happiness as for one of the first times in their long friendship she hugged him right back. “One of these days I’ll need to find an all-purpose look like you have, my suit wasn’t really jungle ready.”

The witch laughed as her feet met the ground again, leaving a hand resting fondly on his arm. “I wouldn’t let it worry you. I think you look…” she trailed off, embarrassed.

The big demon lowered his head, grin growing wider. He’d been teasing Lilith for literal decades now, and their back and forth was as easy as it was comforting. “You think I looooooook?”

She cleared her throat, before muttering low enough that only his sharp ears managed to pick it up. “…rather dashing.”

He chuckled and pulled her in for another hug. “You know you’ll always look beautiful to me Waterlily.”

The tone of his voice sent a pleasant heat through Lilith, from the tips of her ears down to her toes. Over anything else, Lazarus was _comfortable_. He was sure, steady, reliable, a known quantity. Even Edalyn, her own sister, could sometimes be a wild card. Lazarus was just so easy to get along with, and she felt her own affection for him growing. She pressed into the hug for a moment before pulling back. “Are you all ready to go?”

“Sure am!” He hefted a small backpack, her experienced eye picking out similar enchantments to her sister’s. “Left instructions for the day, so we shouldn’t be disturbed.” She hid a grimace at that. It was frustrating, but she knew that Lazarus and his restaurant were a package deal. His dedication and passion were something she admired, but it made great demands on his time. “Packed us a nice lunch, made by the greatest chef on the Isles.” He pulled a heroic pose, puffing his chest out and drawing a giggle from her. 

_Heavens, if there’s one thing he can do, it’s make me laugh._

The demon seemed pleased with himself for the same reason, before chivalrously offering her his arm. “Now my lady, if you’d be so kind as to follow this humble commoner?” 

She jabbed him in the ribs with a finger, making his big frame jolt. “I will so long as you never talk like _that_ again.” She pulled a face and he had to laugh, leading her around the side of the restaurant towards a couple of smaller buildings. She’d always thought them to be storage of some sort for equipment or ingredients, and she was mostly right – there was obviously a smoke house of some variety, a beehive sitting off in the back, what even looked like a small silo. But a soft trill caught her attention and she realised there was another building tucked away under the trees. A modest stable stood to one side, and sitting patiently out the front of it was a large, well-groomed griffin. Not quite the size of its wild brethren, the beast still stood taller than Lazarus at the shoulder. It tilted its head at them as they approached, and Lazarus raised a hand to fondly rub its neck. 

“I thought that asking your staff to carry me at all, let alone with you in the bargain, might have been a bit much.” Lilith almost thought she felt a shudder of relief from her palisman. “So I figured I’d get Mister Fish out for the day!”

She gave him a deadpan look. “Mister Fish?”

Grinning, Lazarus jogged over to a nearby building, before returning with a fish as long as his arm in hand. The griffin perked up, feet shuffling excitedly as it crooned gently. Lazarus flung the fish at it and Mister Fish snapped it out of the air, quickly gobbling it down and letting out a content screech. “ _That’s_ why Mister Fish. He’s been a seafood lover since he was a chick.” The demon stepped right up to the griffin and leant his whole body against its side, embracing it. “Awwww, who’s daddy’s big griffin hmm? You are, yes you are.” Mister Fish flopped onto his back as Lazarus rubbed his belly, fluffing his wings happily.

Lazarus moved off into the stable, returning a moment later with an armful of gear that he began saddling the griffin with in quick, practised motions. Before long the beast was standing upright, wings spread and saddle in place. Lazarus climbed confidently up into the saddle and reached down for Lilith. “Ready to fly off into the unknown with a dashing older man, Waterlily?”

She laughed as she took his hand, climbing aboard and settling down beside him. “Absolutely, please do tell me if you see any.” After a moment’s hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him. _Oh. I could get used to this._

The demon snorted, unfazed. “Oof, so cold. Okay Fishy, let’s go! UP!”

* * *

Luz and Amity descended a few steps into the cosily lit interior of the café, Amity leading them unerringly through the tables as Luz looked all around. Cool and spacious, the way the building was set into the ground made it seem smaller than it was. There were a few other witches and demons sitting at various tables, talking quietly over steaming cups or perusing books and parchments. It kind of reminded her of coffee shops back on earth, and she instantly took a liking to the place.

Which only increased when she saw who was waiting for her. “Gus! Willow!” Charging ahead and dragging Amity by the hand, Luz excitedly went to meet her other friends in their little booth. The two stood up to greet her, smiles in place.

“Luz!”

“Hey!”

Luz enfolded them both in a hug as Amity slid into the seat across from them, smiling indulgently. The human squeezed them extra hard before pulling back and squinting at them. “Amity’s got you two involved in this too huh?”

Gus plucked importantly at his collar. “I can neither confirm nor deny that Amity might have something to do with it.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “I _can’t_ deny that Amity had something to do with it, though we’re always happy to hang out.”

Luz gasped as she finally sat, sliding next to Amity and almost unconsciously threading their fingers together. “So you know where we are going?”

The plant witch snorted. “Of course I do. I’ll even tell you if you ask.”

Gus gasped and Amity flushed. “Willow!”

The girl continued, nonchalantly buffing her fingernails against her dress. “Of course, that would ruin the surprise and all of Amity’s hard work and planning.”

Luz’s jaw dropped, eyes wide in betrayal. Amity couldn’t help but laugh – Willow always had a surprisingly dry sense of humour.

“Awwww, that’s no fair.” Luz grumbled as she slid back down, resting her face against the table.

“Well, I know just what will cheer you up.” Amity nudged her girlfriend with her shoulder. “Have you had anything to eat today?”

There was a long pause as Luz didn’t move. “Define _today_.”

“That’s what I thought. Lucky for you I’m a great girlfriend and already figured out exactly what to get you.”

The promise of food, especially food that she’d apparently like, raised Luz’s head again, a twinkle in her eyes. “Oooh, now that sounds like my kind of surprise. Where do we order?”

Gus held up a hand. “Already gotcha covered.” A twirl of his finger later and a clone of his popped into existence, quickly catching a small pouch from Amity. One of her conditions of coming along today had been letting her foot the bill, and the intimidating Blight had been rather insistent. Luz, friendly to a fault, started digging through her pockets for snails but a squeeze of her hand and a sharp look made her sheepishly return her arms to the table.

Letting her eyes drift back over the quaint little café as the Gus clone ordered for them, Luz spoke up. “I’ve never seen this place before, it must be a Bonesborough native secret. Have you guys come here much?”

Gus and Willow shook their heads, citing other cafes they usually went to, but Amity smiled fondly. “This place has always been a favourite of mine. My parents actually loaned some snails to the owner when they first started when I was little, and for a year we got cheap Thornberry tarts. I think I got addicted to them,” she joked. Willow actually laughed aloud at that, and Luz was reminded that the pair of them still had history she didn’t know about. “They kept bringing me here whenever they could find the time afterwards, though it’s been a while now. Ever since I got old enough to come by myself, I’ve enjoyed it here. It’s nice and quiet, and the food is amazing.” She grinned, and there was a touch of smugness to it. “Plus Ed and Em have a lifetime ban and the owner is good with illusions, so it’s a safe haven from those two.”

Gus whistled at that, having personal knowledge of the twins’ prowess. “Wow, it’d be rare to see that kind of skill outside the Illusions Coven.”

Willow propped her head up in her hand, smiling mischievously. “You never did tell me how those two managed to get banned.”

Amity’s grin turned downright vicious. “Let’s just say it was for very good cause, and you’ll have to ask them for details. Now let’s focus on something more important!” She nodded towards a tray floating towards them, sent by one of the staff and carrying all their orders. Willow and Gus retrieved a drink and a pastry each, Gus almost drooling over his despite its moving parts. Luz was excited to see that Amity had ordered her a fizzer, memories of their magical Messtival night warming her heart, before she looked at the palm-sized pastry next to it, fresh and fluffy with deep red filling. There was another beside it, and Amity quickly handed one to her before claiming the other. “These are Thornberry tarts Luz, and they are proof that the Titan is a benevolent creature,” said Amity reverently, taking a bite out of her favourite treat and letting out a sound that made Willow snort into her drink and gave Luz some very confused emotions. After an experimental bite of her own Luz quickly dug in, enjoying herself but not quite to the same rapturous level as Amity. The fizzer was her favourite part, and she took hers down so quickly that Amity donated half of hers as well, shaking her head in amusement. 

A short while later the group contentedly sat back, idly chatting as they finished up the last of their morning snack. Amity kept subtly checking on Luz and felt enormous relief at the return of her girlfriend’s normal, animated personality, talking rapidly and gesturing wildly with her hands. The food seemed to have perked her right up and Amity felt ready for the next leg of the journey. “Alright, are we all done and ready to go?” A pair of nods from the other witches bracketed Luz’s excited gasp.

“Ooooh, finally revealing the next phase! Lead on, Lady Blight!”

Amity pulled a face as they moved outside. “That’s what people call my _mom_.”

“Lady Baby Blight?”

Willow wheezed at Amity’s outraged sputtering.

The group wandered through the streets, heading further into town. Amity was in no rush to get anywhere, content to enjoy the company and her girlfriend’s warm hand in hers. Now that no one was waiting on them they could take their time, and she was rather enjoying a scholarly debate with Gus about illusions as Willow and Luz talked about trash slugs. Before long a great, grand building loomed over them, looking surprisingly regal and fancy rather than the city’s typical blinking or drooling architecture. It actually reminded Luz a bit of the library, and when she saw the sign suspended over the entrance she realised why.

She turned to Amity excitedly, reading it aloud. “’The Bonesborough City Museum’? I didn’t even know there _were_ any museums here, you have the best ideas ever!” In full view of everyone she pressed a quick kiss to Amity’s lips, leaving the witchling blushing and grinning as she was dragged up the front steps. Willow waggled her eyebrows at her behind Luz’s back as Gus ran to catch up to the human, all four of them quickly getting inside.

* * *

With a healthy flush to her cheeks Eda turned another page of her magazine, turning it sideways and humming appreciatively. Honestly, if she could get a refill and someone to rub her feet right now, this would be paradise. She glanced over at a rustling from her side, smiling at the sight. Leodoris had rolled over onto its back, its limbs akimbo in the boneless way only a puppy could manage. It was actually slowly pressing King to the side, and judging by the little annoyed sounds the demon was making it was working.

King finally sat up, glaring down at his newest disciple. “Honestly, kids these days. You train them up, teach them to be cute, use them as a footstool or a mobile platform to reach things, and this is how they repay you! Eda, we need to-“ He cut himself off as he looked over and noticed her magazine, his tone flattening. “Seriously? Right here, living room?”

“What?” she asked indignantly, turning back to her literature. “Everyone else is gone. You _know_ Luz barely has a concept of privacy as it is, it’s like a closed door is an invitation to see what’s going on for that girl.” The human was an amusing dichotomy in that regard – she utterly respected privacy when she realised, but often her actions plowed ahead of her thoughts and she moved without considering. Even reminders that _witches need to shower and get dressed too_ only worked for so long. “I gotta make the most of the time I can get. And no one else was around!”

King threw his hands angrily in the air. “ _I’m_ around!”

“And you were asleep!”

“My commanding presence fills a room, awake or not!”

“Well your commanding presence didn’t have a clue! It’s not even anything bad!”

The demon scoffed. “Are you kidding? How would you even react if you found out Luz was reading this stuff?”

Eda grinned. “With pride and then a long talk that I would make as awkward as possible.”

“Ugh, why did I even ask…”

“Because you know I’m right! There’s not even anything… _shown off_ in these, it’s just stories and some photos. Photos with _clothing._ ”

“Barely!”

“How do you even _know that?!_ ”

“That’s not the issue right now!”

Between the arguing pair, Leo slowly raised its head, looking back and forth between them and letting out a huff of annoyance. _Tickle and King stop! Loud!_ Though their bracelets lit up, neither seemed to have heard the elemental’s sending. Unable to relax with all this noise, Leo slowly slid itself off the edge of the couch, stretching its back legs before it slunk out of the room. Embroiled in their argument, neither of the two old friends noticed as the puppy slunk upstairs, following its nose to Luz’s bed to curl up. The second it nudged open the door though, something distracted it.

Something _shiny._

Downstairs, matters had escalated. King stood atop Eda’s head, magazine curled up in his paw and outstretched as far as possible, avoiding her reaching arms as they yelled at each other and wobbled back and forth. Finally the witch froze, almost unseating the demon.

“Hey King?”

“Weh?”

“…where’s Leo?”

Moments later the two were moving around the house, Eda checking high and King low as they looked at all the puppy’s usual haunts. Like _mana_ they were going to let anything happen to him today! 

“Leo! Come on little guy, where ya hiding? Come out so your mom doesn’t kill me!”

“Loyal apprentice, cease your hiding this instant! Unless you’re doing this for attention, in which case I’m very proud of you.”

_Rain…_

The sending came to both of them at once, lighting up their glyphs and making them glance at each other. A panicked look out the window revealed the day’s clear skies. “Rain?”

_Rain… Rainb…_

_Leo? What do you mean by rain sweetie?_ sent Eda, moving upstairs. Was the sending getting louder up here? King followed at her heels.

_Rainb! Bow!_

The door to Luz’s room was ajar as they both moved towards it, stopping in the doorway. Inside stood Leo, wagging its tail madly as something glimmered in its mouth.

_Rainbow!_

Eda’s eyes widened. It was Luz’s hair clip. _Oh farts, the kid loves that thing._ She held up her hands placatingly, recognising the gleam in the pup’s eye. _Okay Leo, just come and give that thing to mama. Nice and easy, that’s a good boy._

 _Mama…?_ It tilted its head, and Eda got a confused impression from it. Confused, but slowly firming with certainty. Of soft brown hair, warm hands, cuddles and laughter. _Mamí!_

“Ohhhhh no,” said King.

Eda glanced at him. “You got that too?”

“Yeah. On the plus side, if it's figured out _Mamí_ then Luz is gonna be pretty happy. Downside…” In a sudden explosive motion, the puppy shot past them, bouncing off the wall and rushing down the stairs. “Now it's trying to get to her! And it’s a lot faster than you think!”

“Go, don’t let it outside!” Eda pushed King in Leo’s direction, detouring into her room for a moment and summoning her staff. A flash of her palisman’s magic later and she was charging back out, fully dressed and rushing down the stairs. “Leo, get back here! Wait.” _Leo, get back here!_ Clattering and annoyed grunts from King floated towards her, and rushing into the living room she saw the elemental running circles around the demon, his little hands unable to grasp him in time. 

The puppy looked up at her as she entered, Luz’s clip still glimmering in its little mouth. Its little tail wagged madly with excitement as it dashed around, evading her hands and surprising her with its speed. Despite the leaves, it was pretty easy to forget that it was born of ancient elemental power sometimes. 

“Hooty! Whatever you do, don’t let Leo outside!” she called out.

“HOOT HOOT! What did you saaaaaay?” asked Hooty, swinging himself inwards. Leo, sensing freedom, sprinted out the front door and off towards the woods, nose sniffing the air.

_Mamí!_

Cursing to herself, Eda scooped King up and dashed after him. “Why didn’t you stop him Hooty!?”

“And get in the middle of your chasing game? I have _manners,_ hoot hoot!”

_Mamííííííííííííííííí!_

* * *

The flight out to the coven was a lively affair, the witch and the demon frequently breaking out into laughter at each other’s stories. There was no end of interesting tales that Lilith had to tell after thirty years in the Emperor’s Coven, and what the heck did she care for security clearance anymore? For his part, Lazarus had been in the food business for just as long and had lost track of how many wacky customers he’d had to handle. They soared along over the Isles, Lilith pressed to the demon’s back as she occasionally corrected his course, sometimes reaching down to gently pat the griffin beneath her. The soft purples of the Bonewilds were just coming into view as the restaurateur finished his story, the great arch of the rib curving over them.

“So now I’ve got his whole family harassing my poor staff, demanding to speak with the chef. I can see that things are about to get intense so I go over, all smiles, perfect host.”

Lilith rolled her eyes behind him. “Of course you do.”

“Hey, it’s a skill! So I slide in and ask what’s going on, how can I improve their night, all the while the guy is still going in the background. And they just go _off_ , the chef is an idiot, they shouldn’t serve something this hot, breathing fire is not a good reaction, blah blah blah. So I pull out the form that they signed before dinner, saying that they _knew_ that dragonbreath chili could have extreme effects and that my restaurant was not accountable for any adverse reactions.”

“What did they do?” 

The demon followed Lilith’s pointing hand, guiding Mister Fish down with sure motions. “Well that stops ‘em for all of about three seconds before they just turn on the chef entirely, saying that they must have gotten the spices wrong, or made it too strong or some nonsense. Naturally I disabused them of that notion. I told them the chef had made it thousands of times, knew exactly what he was doing, and that I trusted him more than them. They got all uppity and demanded to speak with him, and I just said ‘you have been’. I honestly didn’t know witches could go that pale, and I haven’t seen ‘em since.” He chortled to himself. “Good riddance.”

The griffin hovered over the treetops, gingerly finding its way down through the canopy and giving Lazarus his first view of the coven. The demon let out an impressed whistle as Lilith smiled behind him, already starting a running commentary of everything to see and pointing this way and that. The griffin came down to a gentle landing just on the edge of the ruins, Lazarus quickly hopping off and dramatically offering to help Lilith down as well. She accepted the offer with an amused grin, subtly rubbing at her rear end once she was on solid ground again. She hadn’t been griffin-back riding since she was a witchling, and now she remembered why.

Lazarus noticed and let out a booming laugh. “Don’t worry. My butt hurts too, it just doesn’t look as nice.”

Lilith flushed scarlet to the roots of her hair, stammering out a response her brain didn’t quite recall and turning away to look at the coven. That last comment was almost a step too far, but she knew he’d always been… flirtatious. Unknown to her Lazarus’s face had quickly fallen behind her as she turned away, his hands automatically hitching Mister Fish to a nearby tree. _Oof, I’ve been out of the game for too long. Yeah right Laz, thirty freaking years too long. Slow it down. Be an adult for once._

“Sorry, Waterlily.”

Lilith looked back to see the big demon sheepishly smile at her. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

She felt a bloom of affection rise inside her and let out a soft sigh. Out here in the privacy of the wilds she felt much more comfortable and stepped close to the demon to wrap her arms around him. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he automatically hugged her back – she never was the type to initiate an embrace. “You have nothing to apologise for Lazarus.” Unconsciously mirroring the demon, she thought to herself _Be an adult about this Lilith._ “It’s… nice, to be complimented like that.” Her voice was soft. “I’m just not very used to it. It’s been a long time since...” _Since I’ve what? Dated? Been with someone? Had a romantic attraction?_ She floundered, not really sure how to finish her thought. 

The demon understood. “Yeah. Me too. Still…. It’s fun to figure it out.” 

She snorted in amusement. “I suppose it is.”

A warping, crackling sound of twisting wood caught their attention, and they pulled apart to stare at one of the large trees nearby them. The bark swelled and grew, splitting and splintering as an enormous section of it seemed to come to life, stepping on to the soft earth on four big, clawed paws. A huge, canine body stood tall before them, formed of woven vines and creepers, living bark and sharp, gnarled wood. A pair of yellow eyes stared down at them from beneath a stunning rack of pale, pointed antlers. Lazarus gaped, astonished at the folk tale come to life. Lilith had told him, prepared him carefully, but her stories hadn’t done the witchwolf justice.

For her part, the Clawthorne simply stepped forward, a smile on her face. “Surge! It is good to see you again.” She stepped fearlessly up to the great elemental and reached out a hand to press against its neck, rubbing up and down. Sparing a last cautious glance for the big demon, the elemental leaned into her touch, eyes sliding half-shut in enjoyment. The witch pulled back, a smile on her face. “Allow me to introduce the pair of you. I’ve got just the thing, made by the master herself.” She stepped back over to Lazarus as the witchwolf watched curiously, lazily sitting down. The demon was still getting his bearings, gesturing vaguely between Lilith and the elemental. 

“You… Wow, you really… huh.” 

Lilith found his reaction rather entertaining and couldn’t get the smile off her face. “I did warn you!” She stepped behind him and opened the pack he’d retrieved for them, sifting through for what she needed. “A-ha, here we are!” She pulled out a large, flat piece of stone, perhaps the length of her forearm and slightly less wide. Carved into the rock were the smooth, perfect lines of the interface glyph, complete with a few small holes where she had pulled out the stone for Luz’s glyph orbs. She gently placed the tablet on the ground and knelt beside it, pressing a hand to it. She beckoned Lazarus closer as Surge moved over to place a great paw on the glyph, taking nearly half the space itself. “Well don’t just stand there, come say hello!”

Beginning to get over his shock, the demon still moved carefully and slowly, kneeling down to place his hand next to hers. Just before he made contact, Lilith quietly said, “And remember what I told you about bracing yourself.”

 _YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME A NEW MEAL_.

Surge’s thunderous, vibrant, powerful presence slammed into Lazarus’ head, making his eyes roll back as he clenched his jaw shut, his muscles shaking with the effort of keeping his hand pressed to the glyph. There were long seconds before he overcame the sudden, overwhelming sensation, and noticed three things. Lilith had a hand pressed to her face, there was the strangest feeling of amusement trickling into his head, and the witchwolf’s big, leafy tail was lazily wagging back and forth, its toothy jaws almost curled in a smile.

“Did… did he just play a joke on me?”

Lilith groaned aloud, embarrassed. “Of course he did. I am so sorry, since I’ve started coming here so often Surge has discovered that he apparently has a sense of _humour_.” She said the last word with no small amount of annoyance, giving the beast a sharp look as she did. Its expression remained unchanged, and if anything its tail wagged faster.

_I am sorry._

Lazarus blinked, still surprised at the feeling. Having a voice – was it a voice? It felt more like a feeling – projected into his head was an unusual sensation, even though this felt like the soft tap on the shoulder to the last sending’s punch to the gut.

 _I did not want to scare you, but I could not resist._ The witchwolf blinked its great yellow eyes. _It is good to meet you, Host. You have been spoken of warmly. I am Surge._

Lilith held in her sigh of relief. She trusted Lazarus – she actually surprised herself with how much she realised she trusted him – but had asked Surge not to call her by his name for her just yet. That was something she’d prefer as few people as possible to know about.

Lazarus was still reeling from the new bundle of sensations pressed into his head, not least of all what Lilith had told him was apparently the ‘name of his soul’. _Host, huh? Yeah, that’s about right._ He glanced at Lilith. “And I just think it right back?”

She nodded. “Try to sort of push the thought forwards to him. You’ll pick it up.”

The demon frowned, focusing. _Thank you, Surge. Can you hear me?_

A soft wuff. _I can._

Lazarus tried to repeat the feeling. _It is good to meet you too. Lilith has spoken very highly of your courage and loyalty._

 _Has she now?_ The elemental’s glowing eyes shifted towards the witch for a moment. When he looked back, his gaze was piercing and alert. _Let us hope you share the same qualities._ His eyes narrowed, and the ancient witchwolf sent his thoughts only to Lazarus. _I am watching, Host. Do not disappoint me._

The big demon felt a trickle of nervous sweat slide down his back. Of all the things he’d expected today, the threatening “treat her right” talk hadn’t been one of them. It was an unfamiliar sensation to be given it by something larger than he was. 

Surge returned to projecting his thoughts to each of them, and Lilith smiled in response. _Now, welcome to the coven. Follow me, I have found something interesting for you._ Lifting his large paw, the elemental nudged the stone glyph tablet back to Lilith and moved off towards the ruins, glancing back to ensure they were following.

Lilith, pleased at the pleasant interaction, felt bold enough to thread her arm through Lazarus’ as she pulled the demon after Surge. “There we go. I told you he was a big softie. Oh, this is going to be a wonderful day!”

Lazarus gulped.

* * *

The museum was fascinating, and it was only a stern warning from a security witch that got Luz to stop running from exhibit to exhibit. There was so much depth, so much history, so _many bones_!

“I can’t believe I never knew about this place,” said Luz, her words coming out slightly muffled as she pressed her face against a glass display cabinet. Inside stood an ancient demon’s skull, longer than her arm. 

Amity gently pulled her back. “The idea hadn’t occurred to me, we’ve been so busy for a while now.”

Willow shrugged. “It was on my to-do list. I thought you might get a kick out of this place, but for these past few weeks your attention has been elsewhere.” She caught Amity’s eye and waggled her eyebrows again, thoroughly enjoying twitting the other girl. She raised a hand to cut off Luz’s words as the human turned towards her. “And it hasn’t been a problem, you’ve been very considerate and neither Gus or I have felt snubbed. Right Gus?” She blinked, turning. “Gus?”

The shorter witch was across the hall from them, staring in awe at a display case of his own. As they stepped over Willow rolled her eyes and Luz had to bite her tongue. Of course, he was looking at a human relic. And of all of them…

“Luz! Thank goodness, you can verify this information for me! Is this all true? Is this a human demon named Vak-oom?” Inside the glass case stood an upright vacuum cleaner, complete with dings and dust.

Luz had long since decided that while she would never lie to him, she didn’t have it in her to bring down her friend’s high spirits about human relics. She humoured him, nodding agreeably. “Yeah, there’s a vacuum in pretty much every house. They can only eat while they are screaming. They prey on dustbunnies.” Only Amity managed to pick up on the tone in her voice, shooting her girlfriend a look out of the corner of her eye and squeezing her hand. She got a grin and a squeeze back. 

Gus turned back around to study the display plaque, avidly taking in all he could. “Wow, every house? You keep mentioning how dangerous the Isles are, I had no idea the human world could be this infested too. I’m not sure I’d survive a day!”

“Pshaw, you’d be fine!” Luz waved a hand, unconcerned. “If I can survive a fairy trying to eat my skin, running from the guards, breaking into the Conformatorium and fighting the Warden on my first day, you’d find the human world a breeze.”

There was a moment of silence before she realised they were all staring at her. “You know,” said Willow, “I shouldn’t be but I’m still surprised at the amount of stuff you get up to.”

“They started it,” muttered Luz. 

Amity started pulling them along to the next exhibit, firmly away from the human wing. Gus wordlessly gestured towards it, a pained expression on his face, but Willow overruled him. “Nuh-uh, you can come here anytime you want Augustus Porter. This is Luz’s first trip, we check out what she wants to see.” The small witch grumbled but followed them as Luz charged off towards more demon and ancient witch exhibits, oohing and aahing over some of the ancient wands the wild witches used to use. Some ancient pottery had a crude image of a witchwolf painted on to it, making Luz and Amity grin at each other and point it out to their friends. 

Gus simply huffed. “Leo’s cuter than _that_ ,” he said, making Luz laugh.

“Heck yeah he is. No one’s cuter than my widdle guy.” A squeeze of her hand. “Um, almost no one.”

They moved further along, checking out everything that caught Luz’s eye. She had a way of making things fun even if the others had seen them a thousand times before, like seeing it with fresh eyes. Examples of some of the aquatic creatures from the Boiling Sea seemed to amaze her, drawing constant comparisons between the fauna of this world and her own. Amity had been privately worried that would remind her of what today was, but Luz’s enthusiasm never faltered, except when she was disappointed.

“Wow. And these are flying fish?”

“Yup”, said Gus. “That’s what the wings are for.” A pause. “Is something wrong?”

“This world is so cool. Human flying fish _suck_.”

Far and away Luz’s favourite exhibit though had to be the enormous, amazingly preserved remains of a giant frost worm of the winterlands, hair still standing out from its great, scaly body and its mandibles looking sharp enough to cut. The beast almost took a hall by itself, its enormous length curving around the wall of the entire chamber, exoskeletal plates linking together. Luz could have comfortably stood up inside of it. 

“Woooooooow.” She tried to stretch the word for the time it took to walk the length of the beast but ran out of breath. “How long since these bad boys were around?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. “What, you mean living in this area? I don’t think it’s ever been cold enough.”

“No no, I mean since they went extinct.”

The three witches shared a glance. “They never went extinct. What the heck is gonna kill this thing? Frost worms still live in the winterlands.” Amity gave the explanation with a smile, knowing how excited Luz would get.

She wasn’t disappointed as the girl gasped dramatically, dashing over to the beast’s display plaque and reading all she could. It took all three of their combined efforts to move her to another exhibit, and even then she kept asking about it. Amity made a mental note to do something else frost worm related – preferably a great distance from the beasts themselves – as she started steering Luz towards the exit. “As fun as this has been – and we are _definitely_ coming back again – we need to get going to our next stop.” It was getting towards the afternoon now, and Amity was nothing if not punctual. 

Even as she followed her girlfriend out the front door, Luz was making pained sounds and holding her hands out towards the displays she hadn’t looked at yet. Amity stood strong until Luz started fluttering her eyelashes at her, pouting cutely and _sorely_ testing her. She felt her face reddening, resolve faltering as she realised it wouldn’t be _so_ bad if they were a few minutes late to their next stop. 

Thankfully, Amity had prepared well for this. Willow and Gus moved up on either side of the pair, ushering them onwards. “Nuh-uh, no way. We have places to be and a schedule to stick to,” Gus said firmly. 

“Remember Luz, Amity’s planned surprises.” Willow was still more than happy to hit the human where it hurt.

Grumbling to herself, Luz relented and started walking again, throwing one last sad glance over her shoulder. She shook it off, leaning in close to Amity. “We are _totally_ having a date here sometime.”

Amity, trying to ignore the feeling of Luz’s warm breath washing over her ear, simply nodded. Turning down one of Bonesborough’s main streets, she led the way to their last stop of the day.

* * *

“Come on Eda, faster! Work those glutes!”

“Shut… up… Wiggles!” panted the witch, uncomfortably sweaty as she panted for air. “Just… keep… watching him!”

The pair were running through the forests just outside of Bonesborough, barely keeping up with the small puppy charging ahead of them. The thing seemed to be a near limitless font of energy, and Eda was feeling every single year since the height of her grudgby fitness. She’d had to scoop King up some minutes ago, the little demon simply not able to keep up the pace. She was ready to summon her staff at a moment’s notice, but Owlbert was no use for now. They’d either lose ground weaving through the trees, or lose sight of Leodoris entirely if they tried to go above the treeline.

No, for now she was stuck chasing the witchwolf down. Over rough terrain. In _heels_.

Eda was quite proud of herself for that.

More than once they’d almost lost sight of the little elemental amongst the undergrowth, but the hair clip he’d stolen proved to be a blessing in disguise, giving him away with its rainbow glow. For all their shouting and attempts to use the glyph, Leo seemed far too excited with their game of chase and with trying to track down his _mamí_ to pay them any attention. His only acknowledgement they were even there was the glances he sent over his shoulder to check they were still chasing, and the amused feelings they kept receiving from him. Already they’d run almost the entire way to Bonesborough, and Eda could see glimpses of it through the dwindling tree line. 

Leo suddenly changed direction, his ears pricking as he dashed towards a tree standing by itself. He was growling around the clip in his mouth, the small sound entirely too cute to be intimidating, but he seemed fixated on something. He ran straight up to the trunk of the tree, jumping up and down and rearing back to brace his front legs against it. Eda took the opportunity to bend over and brace her hands on her knees, gulping down precious breath. 

King, perhaps realising a quip at her expense right then would not have ended well for him, jumped straight off her shoulder to run at the puppy. “Bad Leodoris! I trained you better than this, kind of!” He shook his little fist angrily, attempting to intimidate his erstwhile disciple. “What’s even got you so worked up, huh? What’s… hey, what _is_ that up there?”

A long, waving tail. Four slinky legs, attached to a cute, fuzzy, feline body. But worst of all, a masculine, hairless, terrifyingly human face. And the deep voice made it _worse_.

“Help! Someone help me, I’m stuck in this tree! Get me down, I don’t want this!” It was droning, terrible, and for the life of her Eda couldn’t remember where she’d heard it before. _Something to do with Luz? Bah, not important right now!_

__

What followed was a complicated game of cat and mouse and cat, as the ‘feline’ tried to evade them through the tree, Leo kept trying to get at it, and Eda and King did their best to catch the elemental. It was easier said than done – Eda’s eyebrows had just about climbed into her hairline when the puppy had started climbing up the tree, the bark seeming to ripple at his touch. She could have _sworn_ that the tree root that King had tripped over hadn’t been raised up a moment ago. The comical sight only ended when the cat managed to disappear into some higher branches, making Leo drop back down to the dirt just in time for his pursuers to miss their grabs, crashing into each other and slamming to the ground. By the time they’d recovered their bearings the puppy was off once again, this time straight into the heart of Bonesborough. 

Throwing caution to the wind, Eda summoned her staff and climbed aboard, King leaping into her lap at the last second as they sped off into the sky. What followed was an incredibly tense few minutes as they zig-zagged over the Bonesborough streets, frantically trying to spot Leodoris. The elemental had vanished amongst the crowds and alleys, and both witch and demon looked with more and more anxiety. 

Finally King cried out, pointing through an open window as a glimmer of light caught his attention. Leo was inside in a small kitchen, sitting happily inside an open cauldron as a whistling, yellow demon poured some sort of broth in after him, glancing at a cookbook. Squat and short, the demon had a deep chest and a pair of comically tiny wings poking out of his back, idly flapping as he tossed in some vegetables. “He’s gonna eat Leo!”

“Hey, I know that guy!” cried Eda, angling Owlbert down towards the open window. “He’s one of the biggest suckers on the Isles, falls for every trick in the book! He’s called the Chumpus, he probably thought this was a good deal!” Dismounting and diving athletically through the window, Eda tucked into a tight roll and sprang up to her feet, sending kitchen utensils everywhere. “Hands off my kid’s kid!”

“What the- hey! I bought this lunch fair and square!” groused the demon, getting over his shock quickly as he slammed the lid down on the cauldron, ignoring the oblivious _Yip!_ coming from inside. “If you wanna steal my lunch you’ll have to go through me!”

Eda’s eyes flashed dangerously, and over the next few seconds she proved that she was still a force to be reckoned with. Her staff spun, glyphs flashed through the air, and several sharp kitchen knives went sailing this way and that. The Chumpus ended up half stuck in a pillar of ice, sheepishly asking to call it a draw when King noticed that the cauldron had been knocked over in the melee. Leodoris had vanished again. “Umm, Eda?”

The witch let out a long-suffering groan as she leapt back out the window, gaze moving this way and that. _I’m getting too old for this!_

The front door to the Chumpus’ house swung open, and a nearly identical looking demon stepped inside, a grocery bag falling from one purple arm as he looked around in shock.

The Chumpus tried a winning smile. “I can explain.”

The other demon’s mouth slowly firmed into his trademark scowl as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Not. Happy.”

* * *

Surge led the pair steadily through the ruins, its great form stepping carefully through the overgrown streets. Lazarus’ head turned this way and that as he took it all in, but the greater share of his attention was devoted to Lilith. To the demon’s surprise the slim witch seemed to have come to life within the ancient place, talking animatedly and gesturing every which way. She told him stories of what she had discovered, pointed out the more interesting buildings, and even one of the places where the great elemental leading them had ambushed her. Surge’s eyes had followed her pointing hand and it had raised an embarrassed paw to cover its face. 

_I wonder if she feels more free out here?_ he idly thought, even as he nodded along to one of her stories. _She’s been in the public eye for so long, and even without the full story I know that she’s still figuring things out with her sister. This must be the only place she can just relax._ His gaze drifted forwards, to the leafy haunches of the beast before them. _I guess it says a lot about Surge that she trusts him that much._ A goofy smile grew on his face as he felt a warm, fuzzy sensation in his chest. _And me, I suppose!_

The witch, oblivious to his thoughts, kept on pointing things out. “Oh, and over there is what we believe used to be some sort of schoolhouse. I’m still sifting through the rubble, but Surge seems to remember children moving to and from the building each day. Can you imagine? Centuries, maybe millennia ago, and they still brought their witchlings in to teach them! Who knows what we’ve yet to find? Oh, how I wish that Surge still remembered everything!” She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, before she smiled at him sheepishly. “Oh, please don’t tell him I said that. He’s been such a help, I don’t want to bring up a sore subject for him.”

Lazarus gently patted her hand, enjoying the warm feeling of it still wrapped around his arm. “He won’t hear a word from me.”

She smiled up at him, gently squeezing his arm, and they held each other’s eyes for a long moment. Lilith blinked and looked away, still smiling and a blush in her cheeks, but made no move to extract herself. They continued walking, a comfortable silence filled with warmth and smothered smiles surrounding them. Lilith was so enjoying herself that her typical sharp eye on her surroundings dulled a little, and she entirely missed the raised stone jutting from the earth before her. The toe of her boot impacted against it, her eyes going wide as she stumbled half a step forward. She flung out her arm to brace herself against a nearby wall, but it was more than the weakened structure could take. A crack spread out from her touch, and above her a large, jagged stone fell from the crumbling building, hurtling directly towards her.

_SMACK._

Lazarus winced as the heavy rock slapped into his palm, stinging sharply. He loomed over the witch, his height and size allowing him to quickly reach up and block the falling stone. “Oof, careful there Waterlily.” He slowly moved his arm aside, tossing the rock to the earth with a _thud_. It wasn’t especially large, and at worse would have given her a nasty bump, but by the Titan he wasn’t gonna let it hit his date. “Are you okay?”

“Oh!” She started beneath him, breaking out of her wide-eyed stare. “Yes, of course!” _Hold it together Lilith. Calm and collected. You can do this. He’s not **that** attractive._ “Thank.” _He is, he totally is,_ you _can’t do this, oh Titan this is not-_

Lazarus snorted in amusement. “Welcome. Go?” He spoke in single words, gesturing towards the waiting witchwolf at the next corner. 

Feeling that pleasant warmth again, Lilith’s nerves crumbled as she softly laughed. “Yes,” she said playfully, standing straight again. “Go.” She reached for the demon’s arm again as they moved, but let her fingers slide down his forearm and wrist to gently lace with his.

Surge watched the pair patiently, eyes weighing Lazarus even as a pleased rumble escaped it. As it turned back to keep leading them its antlers sparked with electricity for a moment, and the thick, strong vine it had been ready to drop and use to knock the stone out of the way gently retreated back to the roof of the building. 

Finally the witchwolf reached an average sized structure, nothing making it stand out from the other small dwellings falling apart around them. The great beast walked around the front, ignoring the door entirely to press his head and shoulders inside through a missing wall. Lazarus and Lilith walked in through the doorway, the demon ducking slightly under the frame as they looked around curiously. It seemed to be normal, vines drooping, ferns growing through the floor. There was perhaps a larger pile of detritus than average inside, but that was hardly noteworthy when compared to the other ruins.

Surge however seemed to think otherwise. When the witch turned to ask what it wanted to show them, rather attuned to reading the great elemental after her visits, it simply tilted its head towards the pile. At their confused looks it rolled its eyes and reached a paw forward, a great, sharp claw hitting the rubble and causing a dull, muffled _ting_ of metal. A hollow _ting_.

Now intrigued, Lilith moved forward with a curious Surge a step behind. She quickly brushed aside the plants and dirt, Lazarus moving the larger pieces, before sitting back on her haunches. “My goodness. It’s a cauldron.”

And indeed it was. The metal pot was upside down and roughly the same size as those she’d expect to find in a modern kitchen, perhaps a touch larger. While the metalwork was rougher than she expected it seemed of good make, with thick walls and a sturdy base. Rust and lime speckled the exterior surface, but a slight push on the side of it revealed a surprise. The cauldron seemed fixed to the floor, or at least stuck in place. She gave it a stronger push, and still nothing.

Lazarus crouched down beside her. “Might have gotten sealed to the floor over the years. Give it a good shove.”

Pressing both hands forward now, Lilith braced herself and pressed forwards, gritting her teeth as she felt some dirt begin to shift. After a few tense seconds, the cauldron slid slightly through the dirt and released a small _pop_ sound as she broke the seal keeping it fixed in place. The sudden release made the witch overbalance slightly, bracing herself on her hand as the pot rolled to the side, settling upright. 

A curious Surge watched on as the witch and the demon picked up the cauldron, inspecting it. It seemed entirely nondescript excluding its age, but a glint from inside caught their eye. Tilting the cauldron so it caught the light revealed some engravings on the interior, protected from the elements for all these years. 

Lilith frowned, trying to get the light directly on to the thin, shallow carvings. “These are frustratingly difficult to get a good look at…”

Lazarus tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look and failing miserably. “I can sorta make ‘em out, but it doesn’t help. All gibberish to me.”

The witch didn’t say anything, her frown deepening as a crease appeared between her brows. She slowly turned the cauldron, finally getting it in the right position. “It looks to be an archaic form of modern runic. A _very_ archaic form, I can barely make it out and I’m quite good with this sort of thing.”

The big demon grinned. “In your own humble opinion?”

“Oh hush.” Another few moments passed as Lilith hummed to herself, silently mouthing a few words. “I am not certain, but I believe it may be a list.”

“Well, what’s on the list?”

“The first line says ‘three _kralfs_ water’. At least I think it does. Have you ever heard the term _kralf_ before? Is it demonic?”

Lazarus thought for a moment, rubbing at his chin, before shaking his head. “Nope. That’s new to me. What’s the next line?”

“This one I know, it says ‘two hands of felis berries’.”

“Two hands of…?” Lazarus blinked, and a smile slowly grew on his face. “Waterlily, that’s not a list. Hands is an old unit of measurement. This is a recipe.” He leant down and tapped the metal with a claw. “Someone engraved their recipe right in their family’s cauldron. I can admire that.”

Lilith leaned closer in, intrigued. “Truly? I wonder what it’s for, the only thing I know that still uses felis berries…” Abruptly she froze, stock still and eyes wide.

“Waterlily?” Lazarus frowned and put a supportive hand on her shoulder as Surge took a step closer, worried. “Lilith?”

The witch didn’t hear a word, her eyes rapidly darting over the engravings. _It can’t be._ Powdered fungling, boiling petals, lime slime… _It simply can’t be._ Her eyes filled with tears as the cauldron almost slipped from her fingers, Lazarus helping support it as one of her hands went to cover her mouth. 

Alarmed, Lazarus took the cauldron from her. “Lily, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

She looked up at him with a tremulous smile, fat tears beginning to leak down her face. For a wonder she did not look upset, but rather shockingly, stunningly happy. “Yes, I… I’m sorry.” She wiped at her face, unable to stop smiling even as her tears kept coming. “What you must think…”

The demon snorted. “I think that I’m worried something has upset you and I want you to be okay. What is it?”

She took in a shuddering breath, letting it out in a choked laugh. “That recipe… It was my mother’s. For witches’ brew.” She looked around the humble, ancient ruin falling down around her. “I think this was my family’s home.”

* * *

Coming next week, **Chapter 3 - Large Lagniappe  
**_In which something that was lost may have been found, and something is found in spite of a loss._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another nice slice of goodness for you, same bat time, same bat channel. It's been very enjoyable to write the various levels of game they all have. And Leodoris is a precious cinnamon bun who must be protected.
> 
> As stated above, we are currently looking for more artists to get involved in the project. If you're interested in contributing some illustrations please leave a comment below and I will get in touch with you.
> 
> As always, a big thank you to my pre-readers. You're both lovely humans. 11/10.
> 
> The fantastic art this week was provided by these amazing artists:  
> Who's A Good Fishy & Living Legend - Thomathy  
> Get Back Here - KatTheIndigoWolf - https://kattheindigowolf.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kattheindigowolf  
> Catch That Puppy - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305/


	3. Large Lagniappe

** Chapter 3 - Large Lagniappe  
** _In which something that was lost may have been found, and something is found in spite of a loss._

* * *

_**Author's Note - We are currently looking for more artists to get involved in the next story of the Rainbow Hair Clip Project!** _

“Can I take off this blindfold yet?” 

“Nope!”

“Awwww, come on Amity! The suspense is killing me!”

“Too bad _cutie_ , you’ll have to be patient.”

Luz frowned, even as she felt a pleasant shiver from hearing _that_ word. “Still not fair.”

Amity giggled, quickly looking this way and that. Gus and Willow had gone on ahead to get things ready, and there was no one around. Her confidence at an all-time high after Luz had enjoyed all her surprises, and after learning the power of her new all-time favourite word, Amity leaned in close to Luz. Very close. So close her lips almost brushed the human’s alluring, round ear. “Something _bothering_ you, _cutie_?”

Luz flushed scarlet, actually stumbling, and Amity had to bite her tongue to hold in her laugh. “Okay!” said the human, spinning wildly around and pointing an accusing finger somewhere to the right of Amity. “That is _not_ allowed while I am blindfolded and can’t defend myself!” 

Still smiling brightly, Amity reached out and gently grabbed Luz’s hand in hers, fingers threading together. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” She couldn’t resist a parting shot. “I’ll save that for later.” Luz sputtered in response, struggling to formulate a comeback, but Amity didn’t give her the chance. “Now come on you dork, we have to get moving. I think everything should be ready now.”

Just like that Luz perked back up again. “ _Everything_? What’s _everything_?”

“You’re gonna find out in a minute!” laughed Amity, tugging her girlfriend along again. They were moving through the very outskirts of Bonesborough, the majority of the city behind them. The afternoon sun was still bright and cheery, a few hours of daylight left to enjoy. From up ahead of them somewhere, the pair could hear a gentle, rushing, crashing sound.

Luz frowned. _I swear I know that sound from somewhere. Curse my weakness for surprises!_ Amity’s warm hand in hers kept leading her forwards, the sound growing in tandem with her curiosity. 

Amity finally brought them to a stop, wind gently ruffling their hair as she smiled at the sight before her. A last quick check revealed that everything was ready to go, and she turned to Luz excitedly. “Okay, you can take your blindfold off now.”

“Yes! Finally!” Luz cried excitedly, hands springing to her face and pulling the strip of cloth off even as Amity deftly plucked it from her grasp. Her jaw dropped in a silent gasp as she beheld the sight before them.

Soft, purple water stretched out before her to the horizon, waves curling and foaming white closer in. They crashed against the wide, curved, sandy shore curling to either side of them, the normal white sand Luz was familiar with looking almost like it was sparkling under the sunlight. 

Wait. It _was_ sparkling!

A few small stores and stalls were set up on a long walkway just before the sand, selling all manner of beach equipment and foods. The area was relatively quiet, though there were still a few groups around, enjoying a snack or laying down on towels and blankets in the sand. A few skullshells flapped about here and there, squabbling over food scraps and generally making a nuisance of themselves. A few swimmers played in the water but Luz’s eyes were drawn to the sight on the sand directly before her. 

Sitting on a big, red and white checkered blanket were Gus and Willow, holding their arms out in presentation. An open basket sat next to them, and some snacks and games were laid out ready to go. Luz just stood and gaped for long seconds, before her brain finally caught up. “Oh my GOOOSH!” She surged forward, sand flying as she pulled a laughing Amity along. “This is amazing! When did you plan all this? Why is the sand so sparkly? Are we going swimming? I thought the ocean was boiling!” She skidded to a halt just before she’d have flung sand over everything, and more carefully approached to sit down on the blanket.

Well used to how quickly Luz’s mind could work sometimes, Willow smoothly answered. “Amity talked to us a couple of days ago to help out, but the whole idea was hers.”

“As for the sand,” said Gus, “It’s filled with glass particles as well, unlike a desert. The Boiling Sea heats up sand and fuses it, so they mix in with the normal sand. They are too small to hurt, and they make everything sparkle a bit. That’s why they call it Glimmer Beach!”

“And we can go swimming if you’d like,” said Amity warmly, smiling. “I brought a spare suit for you that I think will fit. This is pretty much one of the only safe places to do it. You see out there?” She pointed towards the ocean, and Luz saw what she meant. A lot of waves seemed to be crashing against nothing before they calmed a little in the area leading on to the beach. “There’s a ridge under there that built up into a sandbar, it stops the worst of the waves and beasts from coming in. It has freezing cold air coming out of it that cools the water as it passes over, so it’s just warm by the time it gets to us. It’s actually pretty nice.”

Luz, eyes sparkling, was enraptured. “Where does the air come from?”

Amity had to laugh. “Luz, are you gonna enjoy the beach or are you gonna go looking for a landscape coven expert?”

Luz sheepishly relented as the group broke out laughing and tucked into a few of their snacks, their morning café visit feeling entirely too long ago. The games were up next, and they were more than happy to show Luz a few of the Boiling Isles classics. She was very amused by Slithers and Scales, telling them of a similar game from earth involving serpents and ladders, and how much she wanted them all to try something called ‘Twister’. No game time was complete without a round of Hexes Hold ‘Em, and this one Luz approached with confidence. Eda had taught her the tricks of the trade one particularly boring, rainy day, and she liked to think she had become a pretty fair hand at it. 

This illusion was torn asunder by her complete decimation at the hands of one Amity Blight. Willow had cited too many evenings watching her dads play it to ever want to do it voluntarily, and Gus wasn’t very familiar with the rules. Amity had calmly stepped up, done that _hot smirk thing_ to get Luz invested and proceeded to tear her down every step of the way. She even countered Luz’s wild card with her own! 

“Wow, you have got to play Eda sometime. I think she’d try to kill you.”

Amity laughed as she put away the deck. “No fun in beating a cheater.” 

Luz had to snort at that. “Okay, now I’m _definitely_ making it happen.”

In pairs, the group moved off to change into their bathing suits. Gus and Willow returned in the sort of old fashioned suits Luz would expect from a black and white movie, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that the suit Amity had brought for her was a tasteful, dark blue one piece similar to those she’d worn previously. She opted to keep her shorts on over the suit, and her girlfriend proved that she really did plan for everything when she slid a pair of flip flops under the tent flaps. “There you go Luz! Sand in your shoes is not fun.”

“Oh, thank you!” She quickly slid them on and stepped outside, taking in the sight of Amity. The other witch had let her hair down, a shy smile on her face.

Amity shifted a little nervously. _It’s just a bathing suit. You’re completely covered and entirely decent._ Still, most of her shoulders and legs were exposed in front of Luz. It was enough to make her a little nervous. She’d picked a one piece in a dark purple, with a cute, translucent skirt attached around her waist. “Does the suit fit?”

Luz stared for a long moment, a bit floored by how beautiful Amity looked, her pale skin almost glowing in the sun as her loose hair waved in the breeze. “It’s uhhh….” She tried to start speaking, jolting her brain back to reality as she cleared her throat. She twisted this way and that, trying to hide her blush. “It’s good! Maybe a little tight? I think I’m getting taller than you, _plátano_. Oh hey, I do have a cute name for you!”

Amity scoffed at the human’s cheeky grin but couldn’t deny the truth of it. While the pair still had plenty of growing to do, there was no denying Luz had the edge on her at the moment. “Yeah, yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts cutie, I’ll catch up.” Grinning at each other, the pair made their way back over to their friends. Amity kept her eyes firmly ahead and not on Luz’s exposed shoulders. _I did not think that part through._

The second Luz heard the term “tide pools” they were off to their next activity, dashing down towards one end of the beach and the craggy rock formations there. The group clambered amongst them, careful of their footing as Willow kept a running commentary of every aquatic plant she could spot and Luz related everything to earth’s animals. Small, brightly coloured creatures flashed in some pools, occasionally being snagged by a claw, beak or tentacle. Luz was held firmly back from approaching one pool as Amity shook her head and tossed a rock at it. The whole thing snapped shut over the rock as Luz yelped in surprise, watching the fake pool rise on many skittery legs and wander off, grumbling to itself. 

Wanting to try out the waves while there was still light out, the group moved in towards the water, wading in and having fun splashing each other and catching some waves. Gus proved to be a natural in the water, swimming circles around the more average skills of the others. Willow and Amity had learned the basics at Lake Lacuna years ago but hadn’t much touched the water since, and Luz was in the same boat after taking swimming classes when she was younger.

“Psh, ain’t nothin’ to it!” said Gus, flapping an unconcerned hand. “I come here all the time, my dad used to be a real beach kinda guy when he was younger.”

“Ohh, does he know how to surf?” Luz asked excitedly as Amity shrieked in the background, Willow dunking her under the water.

Gus looked at her blankly. “Serf? Oh, is that a human activity?” His eyes gleamed as he leant in, always eager for more human knowledge.

“Oho, it’s only one of the coolest human things around!” Luz launched into an explanation of surfing, handily glossing over the fact that she’d never tried and was very happy to keep it that way. Her explanation was cut abruptly short when Amity leapt upon her back from behind, dragging them both under the water. She emerged laughing and sputtering, before diving off after her retreating girlfriend. Her pulse raced as she managed to catch the witch, bringing them both under the waves. They happened to catch each other’s eye under the water, and Amity actually _winked_ at her. Without hesitation Luz moved forward, pressing a searing kiss to Amity’s lips before pulling back. Her head broke the surface as she gasped for air, Amity following her a moment later.

“Warn me… when… you’re gonna do that!” she panted, getting a laugh out an equally breathless Luz.

“Where’s the fun in that? Oh, I know a fun game we can play!” The human dived back under the water and swam towards a suspicious Amity.

“Luz? Luz, what are you doing? Luz, wait, wait NO-“ Amity surged upwards with a shriek, Luz lifting the girl up onto her shoulders as the water supported both of them. 

“Hey Gus, Willow!” Luz grinned as she got their attention. “We challenge you to a wrestling match! First team to get dunked loses!”

“Game on!” smirked the plant witch, reaching out and easily hefting a surprised Gus on to her shoulders.

“Woah, hey, why can’t I carry you?” 

Willow snorted. “Because I am way stronger than you are. Now let’s do this!”

The two pairs came together, Amity and Gus’ arms locking up top as Luz and Willow kept them supported. The biggest risk wasn’t being toppled by their opponent, but in trying to stay upright through the infectious laughter. Luz eventually succumbed, wheezing for breath as Amity splashed down beside her, pulling her hair from her face as she laughed breathlessly. Willow and Gus’ victory lap was cut short by a loud scream from the beach. All four of them snapped their heads up at the terrified sound.

Oozing over the sandbar into the small, sheltered beach area was an enormous, amorphous mass of slimy tentacles and glaring, red eyes, a sharp beak briefly visible clacking under the water. Terrified swimmers fled en masse from the ocean beast, and Amity let out an agonised groan. At Luz’s look, she smiled ruefully. “You try to do something nice for your girlfriend,” she said, gesturing at the beast.

* * *

_This thing is a living legend. It’s been part of witch culture for ages. I was told **stories** about it when I was little. Mana, I told them to the Bat Queen’s brats! _Atop her staff, floating over the streets of Bonesborough, Eda let out a strangled shout of frustration, making King flail his arms and almost slip off behind her. “So why is he so hard to find!?”

The witchwolf pup had utterly given her the slip, vanishing into the streets of Bonesborough once again. Eda was beginning to feel genuine concern – she cared about the little runt. _If anything happens to him Luz will never forgive me. Ughhhh!_ “Getting anything?”

“Nothing. If it’s thinking, it’s keeping it to itself!” said King. He was focussed on the little bracelet Luz had given him, trying to communicate with Leo. At this point it was their best bet of trying to find the witchwolf amongst the hustle and bustle, and Eda was willing to try anything.

“I’ll be honest King, I’m getting worried here.”

The demon glanced at his old friend, taking in her tight frown. “I’m not. You saw the bigger version of Leo, right? All that you guys talked about was how much of a rough customer it was. Leo’s pretty tough too, even if it gets into trouble we’ll get there in time.”

_Mamí!_

“Woah!” King’s eyes went wide. “And I’ve got it! Stop, stop!” Eda screeched to a halt mid-air, Owlbert turning his head to look reproachfully at her. The witch didn’t notice and nor did the demon, brow furrowed as he focussed on the little glyph orb and firmly sending a mental command to _stay!_ “Leo is nearby! I heard it, it’s still looking for Luz!”

Eda focussed on her own glyph as her eyes swept the street below them, passing over roofs, stalls, milling witches and demons. _Leo! Come on little guy, come to Tickle! Your mother will kill me if you get hurt!_

_Mamí!_ The thought actually came with recognition this time, and Eda’s searching grew more intense. After a moment’s thought she began slowly letting Owlbert drift left, then right, keeping up a steady stream of thoughts to Leodoris. When its returned feeling of confused excitement came back stronger, she grinned and kept moving that direction, slowly homing in on the puppy. Finally a flash of leafy green against the grey paving stones caught her gaze and she cackled triumphantly. “There he is!” She pointed towards the entrance to a cosy looking café, the witchwolf slowly circling outside the door, rainbow glimmer in its jaws and nose to the ground. Its ears pricked up and its tail began wagging madly as Eda heard another one of its unfocused sendings. _Mamí this way!_

Like a shot from a barbspitter the elemental took off running, nose to the wind. The chase was on once again, but this time the pair were ready. King clambered around to get a good view in front of Eda and the pair stuck to Leo’s tail, closing the distance now that they had spotted it. For all its usually uncoordinated movements the witchwolf seemed quite adept at weaving between obstacles, ducking under surprised witches and using small crates and steps to spring over obstructions to its path. Overhanging roofs and streetlights proved a hindrance, and Eda had to perform more than one last minute aerial manoeuvre to avoid inconveniently detaching some part or another of herself.

They finally caught up to Leo just outside the museum as the puppy paused to sniff the ground again. It almost gave them the slip as it seemed to get the scent again and take off at an abrupt right angle, but Eda was having none of it. Channelling Owlbert’s magic, she spun a quick spell circle and an ethereal, golden hand materialised above Leodoris. At Eda’s mental command it grasped the puppy by the scruff of his neck, lifting it above the ground as its legs continued to work madly for a few moments. 

_Mamí!_ The sending came through decidedly grumpy this time, and Leo craned its head in their direction. _Mamí that way Tickle!_

“I don’t care where she is, you little escape artist!” said Eda, sending her thoughts and speaking aloud as they’d learned when they’d met Surge. “I’ve gotten entirely too much exercise on my day off and we are heading _straight_ home.” _Titan I sound old_.

The magical hand floated over and deposited a squirming Leo firmly in her arms, a stern glare making it still. _Mamí and Soft and and!_

Eda took a moment to puzzle that out before realising that while they’d met, the little pup didn’t have the words yet for Luz’s other friends. Plant girl and Dweebus. “I know you miss them little guy, but it’s only for the day. Heck, there’s not even much of the day left.” The puppy looked up at her. “Now don’t you give me that look.” Its eyes widened. “ _Don’t you do it._ ” Sparkles seemed to grow in its eyes as they grew wet and shiny, staring sadly up at her, the pup’s tail drooping sadly. _Oh cram the kid taught this thing too well._ Eda cracked under the literal puppy dog eyes, letting out a loud groan. “Ughhhhhhh, fine! Okay, we’ll find her and you can give her the clip, and then straight home and you’re gonna be a good boy for the rest of the day!”

_Mamí! House!_ All traces of sadness vanished from the puppy’s expression as it almost seemed to smile around the glowing clip. Its tail started wagging happily again as it settled in Eda’s arms. _Good boy!_

Eda snorted at that, and she heard King snicker behind her. Keeping low to the ground to keep the scent they began following the trail again. The puppy’s nose sniffled this way and that and Eda gently corrected their course to match, the trail thankfully keeping them to the town outskirts. 

“I can’t believe you fell for that,” teased King behind her. “Oldest trick in the book.”

“Can it Wiggles. I didn’t fall for anything.”

“Oh, so it’s just a coincidence that we’re doing exactly what Leo wants? How interesting.”

Eda let out an annoyed groan. “Look, there were two reasons this was annoying. Number one, that the little brat could get hurt, which we now know isn’t going to happen.” Oblivious to the conversation Leo sat hugged to Eda’s chest, still sniffing as its tail kept wagging. “Number two, I didn’t want to have to go out and do things or generally move at all. That’s been thrown way, way out the window, so here we are. We may as well just drop the thing off, tease the two little lovebirds on their date, and head back.”

King nodded thoughtfully. “I _do_ enjoy mean spirited laughter… Okay, count me in.”

The Owl Lady snorted. “Like you had a choice. You’re way too lazy to walk home from here.”

“Hey! Don’t use factual statements as insults!”

Grinning in amusement for what felt like the first time all day, Eda let the conversation fade for a few minutes as she kept following Leo’s nose. Finally, she said, “Hey, where do you think they ended up? Did Baby Blight tell you any of her plans?”

King peeked over her shoulder down their path. “Eh. Who knows. Teenagers work in mysterious and unfathomable ways. I almost conquered them once, but they are simply too inscrutable for anyone else to manage.” A pause. “But considering there’s nothing else out this way I’m gonna say the beach.”

Eda blinked. “Oh yeah. Wow, it’s been years since I’ve been down here. Heh, Glimmer Beach. Of course she’d bring Luz here, it’s all sappy and gross. Perfect to distract the kid.” Though she kept it to herself, Eda was quite pleased that Amity had come into Luz’s life. She seemed to be a generally positive influence, and there was no denying she made the human happy. _They’re a good match_ , she thought. _My kid could do **much** worse._ She grimaced at the thought. Even in her own head, the phrase ‘my kid’ kept popping up more and more. It didn’t feel like it meant what it used to.

The soft crashing of waves ahead thankfully saved her from more introspection on that subject, and she let out a long breath as she picked up speed, rising a little higher. Leo squirmed slightly in irritation as it lost the scent, but Eda squeezed him gently. “Relax little guy. I know where we’re going. You might even be able to run around a bit, it should be pretty peacefu-“

A grating, warbling screech sounded from up ahead, and even from this distance Eda could make out some big, wriggling shape moving amongst the water. “Of course,” she said quietly. “Oooof course.” Letting out a long sigh, she leant into the wind and picked up speed, reaching down her dress and pulling out a couple of glyph papers. She didn’t have many, but after a couple of close calls she’d gotten into the habit of never leaving home without some. As they got closer to the water the dark shape turned out to be an immature kraken, the tentacled beast thrashing madly about as it churned the waters. Its eyes glared fiercely all around it, at the sands, the water, the trees, the fleeing bathers. Especially at the small group standing in front of it, trying to make their way rapidly off the beach. The small, four-person group. Eye’s sharp eyes narrowed. _Dark skin. Green hair._ A glint of reflected light. _Glasses._ They got even closer and she made out a final detail. _Aaaaaaand round ears. Yep, that’s my group alright._

She grumbled darkly as she swooped down, letting King and Leo off the staff safely amongst the stalls and shops on the beachfront. 

Outraged, King turned to face her after she shoved him off. “What are you doing? Let me up there, let’s go help Luz!” 

“No can do King. You have precious cargo to guard.” She turned her gaze to the witchwolf, the puppy already looking like he was about to go tearing off again. “And you!” She raised her voice and tried to remember exactly the tone she’d used because Leo’s tail drooped and it instantly gave her its full attention. “ _Stay with King_.” 

Her iron words, both in voice and thought, finally seemed to sink in, and the puppy sat down petulantly. 

“Oh. Right.” King stood protectively beside Leo. “I will guard my young ward! None shall pass us!” Terrified bathers continued to stream past. “Now go help Luz!” 

Not wasting a second Eda leapt back on to her staff and zoomed away, a fire glyph in hand. She channelled Owlbert’s magic and the glyph lit up, a powerful fireball blooming before her and growing larger, and larger. As the kraken surged forward, reaching for one of the witchlings – was it Amity? Whoever it was, they had tripped – Eda launched the spell, the huge blast striking the creature in the slimy mass of its body held above the water. Steam rose from its blistered flesh as it let out a hideous screech. With the beast distracted, Eda zoomed down to help the group escape.

“Eda!” called out Luz, face lighting up. “Are we glad to see you! Nice shot!”

Eda smirked. “Hey, I’m not what I was but I’m still awesome. Now let’s get up on the sand, we can’t fight this thing in the water.” 

As the group slogged their way back on to the sand, Gus spoke up. “Not that getting out of the water was a bad idea, but why don’t we just ya know… keep going?” He gestured vaguely back towards town.

Eda and Amity both shook their heads, the Owl Lady giving the witchling a surprised look. “We can’t now,” said Amity, quickly summoning a sandy abomination as she fixed her gaze on the recovering kraken. She’d read enough about them to know they had to fight. “It was already fixated on us, and Eda’s spell will just make it worse. That thing will chase us onto land if it has to, and we couldn’t beat it back to town.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” grinned Eda. “We’ve gotta take this thing on now or never. And contrary to what the emperor’s mooks say about me, I’d prefer this thing doesn’t go rampaging through innocent people. Heck, they’d probably blame that on me too. So!” She spun her staff, planting the end in the sand as the kraken lurched towards them. “Who’s never fought for their life before?”

* * *

Lilith spent some time looking around the small ruin, Lazarus helping her poke through every pile of rubble. Surge watched on patiently, its eyes languidly closing from time to time. Eventually the witch gave up the search, standing back up and brushing down the front of her dress.

“I suppose it was too much to hope that they may have left something else here. It was astounding that even the cauldron has lasted this long.” She sighed regretfully, kicking at a small stone before making an effort to pull herself together. “But whatever am I doing? I brought you out here to show this place to you, and here we are digging through one small part of it.”

Lazarus snorted as he rose as well, adjusting the pack on his shoulders. “Think nothing of it Waterlily. We can come here any time, you only discover your ancestor’s house once.” He hesitated. “Are you… okay?”

The witch hummed softly to herself, looking around. “I think so. Family is… complicated. I’m happy, I’m amazingly happy that we’ve discovered this. But it might take me a while to process…”

“In that case,” grinned Lazarus, slinging the bag to the ground. “How about I whip you up an old family recipe?” He reached in and quickly pulled out an array of high-quality cooking utensils, including a modern, self-heating cauldron. “Just not from my family.” He nodded at the cauldron they’d placed aside, and Lilith felt a smile grow on her face.

“I think that would be a wonderful idea. Frankly I could use the pick me up. But do you mind if we…?” She gestured vaguely outside, away from the crumbling walls. The big demon simply nodded, picking up his tools and following her to a small empty space next to the base of one of the larger trees. Lilith made sure to bring the ancient cauldron as well, cradling it gently. Surge padded along behind them, content to simply enjoy their company. It briefly placed its paw against one of the tree’s massive, branching roots, and after a moment a soft canopy of leaves shuffled into place above them, giving them some cool shade. Flashing the elemental a thankful smile, Lilith started speaking. “Alright, for the brew the first thing is-“

Lazarus made a frantic gesture with both hands and cut her off. “NO! Nope, no, uh-uh!” He grinned at her bewildered look. “Did you seriously just try to tell me how to do a new recipe when there are ancient instructions written in that thing?” He gestured to the old cauldron.

Lilith smirked at him as she arched an imperious eyebrow. “Oh, so you know how to read ancient runic now?”

The demon paused for a moment, before letting out a huff. “That’s not important! The main thing is that there’s a big difference between having someone read you instructions, or having an experienced cook tell you what to do! You wouldn’t take a new recipe away from me would you? You just read ‘em out and I’ll make you the best witches’ brew ever.

Remembering cold winter nights cuddled up with her baby sister with warm mugs in their hands, Lilith smiled gently. “I doubt that. But we’ll see, won’t we? Alright, first ingredient…” 

The pair set to work, Lilith translating as Lazarus did his best to brew to her specifications. Though he quickly shushed her if she tried to offer advice or instructions beyond the bare minimum, Lazarus gratefully accepted her help, and indeed enjoyed cooking with her. He carried most of a well-stocked kitchen with him as a matter of course. Lilith was surprised to learn that didn’t extend just to cooking implements when he pulled out a small jar and added a dash of spice to the cauldron. All the ingredients they needed were in ready supply near the coven and once they passed along what they were doing Surge was more than happy to help them find anything they needed. Sooner than she would have once credited, Lilith found herself sitting before a steaming, bubbling cauldron, looking fondly at the light green brew inside. It had always held a place in her heart, but learning its ancient origins added a new dimension of familial appreciation to it. 

“That should just about do it,” said Lazarus, leaning back with a smile on his face. He was always pleased when he managed a new recipe, especially on the first try. 

Lilith smiled right back at him. Cooking with him had been a new experience, and one that she was eager to try again. She didn’t even care about the felis berries staining her fingers. “So it should. I think you got it just right.” She glanced down at the ancient cauldron by her side, double checking the recipe from a lifetime of double-checking habit. She paused when she noticed something and leaned in to look a bit closer. “Hm, what’s this…”

“Waterlily?”

She reached a hand into the cauldron and used one sharp nail to gently scrape away some dirt encrusted into the metal. Hidden beneath was a final line of runes.

“Oh my. It would appear we’re not quite done yet!”

Professional curiosity lighting up his features, Lazarus leant in to look as well. He had to get very close to Lilith to see clearly, and Lilith found that she rather enjoyed that situation. “So we’re not! Did you know about this ingredient?”

Lilith frowned, carefully reading the runes. “As far as I was aware we had brewed it perfectly. I wonder why I never knew about this? It says… three…” She hummed. “Stalks! Three stalks of…” Her eyes narrowed. “Feather… grass. Feathergrass.” She looked up at Lazarus. “Do you happen to have any of that?”

The big demon was frowning, a furrow in his brow. “I can’t say that I do. I’ve never even heard of it actually, and that’s a big deal coming from me. Maybe that’s why it was never in the brew that you know?”

“Perhaps you’re right,” said Lilith sadly. She let her gaze wander over the ruins in front of her, almost wishing the answer would leap out at her, before she let out a small “Oh!” She turned to face directly at the dozing witchwolf next to them. “Someone might know!”

The pair quickly roused the elemental, its yellow eyes blinking sleepily at them. Lilith quickly brought out her prepared glyph stone and in moments they were speaking.

_Feathergrass?_ Its sending was thoughtful. _This name is not known to me._

Lilith tried not to let her disappointment show, but Lazarus still put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

_However…_

The witch looked quickly back up.

_The coven made good use of the earth and tilled many fields, back when the forest was not as dense._ He looked around at the surrounding trees and overgrowth. _Though some are long gone, there are still a few that persist. Their plants were hardy and have remained over the seasons._ Curiosity and vague interest thrummed alongside his words. _There is one near. Come!_ The witchwolf pulled his paw from the glyph stone and started off, Lilith and Lazarus following along and leaving their cauldron to bubble.

Surge led them through the ruins, wending his way around some trees and stepping carefully around a big, fallen pile of rubble. The elemental was always careful, bordering on reverent, around the ancient buildings. He led them back out of the coven itself, to the edge of the surrounding forest. Before them lay a field of swaying, wispy stalks. Thigh-high on Lilith, the grass had a golden brown stem and a head full of wispy, waving fibres, ghostly white and to Lilith’s delight resembling feathers. She quickly walked up to the nearest stalks, trailing her hands along them and smiling at the soft sensation against her fingers.

Lazarus stood a few paces behind her, watching with a slightly stunned expression. The way the witch moved, the delight in the soft laughs that bubbled out of her, how her smile brightened her normally serious expression. _Wow._ His thoughts slowed as he tried to imprint the moment in his memory. There was a very soft huff to his side, and a glance that way revealed Surge, looking directly at him. The ancient witchwolf appeared to almost be _grinning_.

Flushing beneath his fur, the demon stepped briskly forward, earning another amused huff. “Well, it looks like this is the stuff!”

Lilith gazed up at him, smiling and radiant. “So it does. I was concerned… Well. I’m very pleased to find that feathergrass still exists. Very pleased.” She laughed again, and to his shock actually leant against his chest. “Delighted even! I can’t wait to try the completed brew.”

Grinning, the big demon gently wrapped the witch up in a hug, and the pair stood there basking in the moment for a time. Lazarus felt the strongest urge to kiss her, only held back by his resolve to take things slowly. When he finally pulled back, the pair shared another meaningful look. “Well, no time like the present hm? Let’s pick a few stalks and try them out!”

After getting Surge’s approval – the witchwolf took his stewardship of the coven very seriously – the pair selected and picked a few of the strongest, healthiest looking stalks, including a few to try when they returned home. Lazarus was pleased when the elemental even allowed him to pluck a few seeds to plant in his garden. Back at their impromptu kitchen, Lazarus quickly spooned out some brew into a small vial. Under Lilith’s curious look, he simply shrugged. “Safety first!” Plucking a few feathergrass strands, the demon gently dropped them into the vial. They seemed to dissolve almost instantly, and the pale, green fluid turned a brighter, more vibrant shade. Holding the vial in the shadows revealed that it was even glowing softly. 

Holding Lilith at bay, the demon cautiously sniffed the small vial, before dipping a finger in it and placing a couple of drops on his tongue. When he was confident that it was safe, he held it out to the witch. “Would you do the honours? Stands to reason that a Clawthorne should be the first to drink Clawthorne brew.”

“Clawthorne brew…” Lilith grinned at the name. “I like the sound of that.” Without any hesitation she tossed the vial back, quickly swallowing the glowing, green fluid. She let out an appreciative sound as she looked at the empty vial in her hand. “My goodness, that certainly improves the flavour. More vibrant, a little sweeter I think. And – oh.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my.” She felt a sudden swell of energy rise inside her, like a shot of adrenaline to her senses. Her heartrate quickened and, most shocking of all, she felt her magical ability surge. It didn’t even come close to her previous level of ability, but still, that this could happen at all-!

Unable to help herself, she turned to look at a nearby stone roughly her own size, covered in moss and sunken into the earth. Pointing a finger at it she traced a circle and channelled a levitation spell, feeling her reserves take the hit. Without the assistance of her palisman lifting this stone would have been beyond her but moments ago, but now she watched in satisfaction as the rock slowly heaved from the ground, dirt and grass falling from its underside. Sweat dotted her brow, and the stone wobbled after only a handful of seconds, beginning to descend, but for a brief moment she’d felt more than a shadow of her former self. It was… amazing. Her gaze was drawn to the pale skin of her outstretched hand, and she watched in shock as a small scrape she’d gotten the previous day rapidly healed.

She turned to look back at the cauldron. 

Lazarus, having watched all this closely, quickly put a hand up to stop her. “No more for a bit, not until we make sure you’re okay.”

Lilith frowned darkly, but couldn’t deny the sense of his words. After a moment she let out a long breath, trying to relax a little. She felt almost… jittery. “You are right. I am sorry, that ingredient seems to have changed the brew more than I expected. It’s like a magical stimulant, or a… a healing potion.” She considered the implications of their discovery for a long moment, before sighing again. “I can scarcely imagine the lengths some of my old associates would go to, to get some of this. We should keep this to ourselves for now, and those we trust.”

The demon shrugged. “Sure, whatever you say. The way I see it the recipe belongs to your family and is your property. I won’t ever make it without permission.”

That put a smile on her face, and she leant in to touch his arm. “You’ll always have my permission.” To her extreme amusement, that actually managed to fluster him, an occasion she could have counted on both hands.

“Ah, well, then. Thank you. That’s very kind.” He cleared his throat, looking this way and that before defaulting on his normal fallback. “So, would you like some food?” He held up the pack containing the picnic they’d utterly forgotten about. Laughing softly, the witch accepted a couple of small snacks, not eager to upset her stomach after trying a new potion. Lazarus nodded at the logic, and kept himself to a couple of small morsels as well. The pair leant back against a tree in the sunshine, Lilith being so bold as to lean against Lazarus’ side, and enjoyed their long awaited picnic as the cauldron kept gently bubbling beside them. Lilith grinned as the demon eventually cracked and had to lean forward to add the final ingredients to the recipe. 

“It was ninety nine percent done, I had to finish it! How was that not bothering you?”

Surge basked in the sunshine beside them and after a quick question to Lilith, Lazarus offered the witchwolf some of their food as well. Though the great elemental didn’t need to eat, he still appreciated the gesture and the flavour as he licked the inside of a jar of seanut butter. He seemed to have a surprising amount of difficulty with it, getting some stuck in his mouth as he kept licking over and over. Lilith had to bite her tongue to hide her amusement. 

Finally the pair had to reluctantly head back to civilisation, packing away everything for the day. Lazarus quickly bottled up the rest of the brew as Lilith brought out their glyph, and they said their goodbyes to Surge.

_I will always appreciate good company,_ sent the elemental warmly. _It is good to have met you, Host._ His great, yellow eyes shifted to Lilith. _Your chisel grows stronger. Safe journey, and I look forward to your scent again._ As the witchwolf padded back amongst the coven and vanished into the trees, Lilith quickly wiped at her eyes, assuring Lazarus that she was fine.

Mister Fish was rolled over onto his back and snoring softly as the pair approached, and the demon couldn’t resist running forward to lean against the griffin’s belly, rubbing and tickling him as the griffin groggily awoke. Moments later the beast was saddled and ready to fly, Lazarus carefully tucking his pack to one side. They’d taken a few more armfuls of feathergrass, Surge happy for the unused plant to be of some use. Finally they took to the air once more, Lilith clinging to Lazarus’ back far more comfortably than she had just that morning, and both of them enjoyed the quiet for a time. 

“What a day, huh?” the demon eventually asked, his voice quiet.

“Mmmm,” agreed Lilith. “It was wonderful. I hope you liked Surge. He is very dear to me.”

Lazarus chuckled. “Well, after I found out he didn’t want to eat me things got easier.” He paused, and his grin grew. “You know, he actually warned me when we first spoke?”

Lilith tilted her head back, looking up at him. “Warned you?”

He nodded. “When we were first talking. He said that he was watching closely. Wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you.”

The witch bristled like an angry cat. “Why that big leafy idiot! Next time I see him-“

“Easy, easy Waterlily. He was just trying to protect you. I’d have probably done the same in his case. I’m just glad I seemed to pass his test.”

Still grumbling, Lilith squeezed him gently. “Well, you leave him to me. I think today was wonderful.”

“So do I.” The big demon chuckled. “All it’s missing is a cheesy sunset beach walk.”

Lilith froze as she realised how badly she wanted that. “Oh. That actually sounds really nice. Could we, um…?”

Lazarus looked back over his shoulder, an eyebrow quirked at Lilith’s slightly embarrassed expression. He smiled. “Waterlily wants, Waterlily gets! Come on Mister Fishy!” 

With a great screech the griffin corrected its course, nearing Bonesborough as they angled towards the closest beach. As the two passengers kept quietly talking the griffin’s head perked up slightly. It sniffed the air – the smell was gone now, lost in the rushing winds, but for a split second… It turned its head this way and that, trying to find it. There it was again! Mister Fish turned his head almost fully to the side, sniffing at the pack Lazarus had attached to the saddle. With a soft trill of interest, the griffin began worming his beak into the small space.

Distracted by Lilith, it took the demon a moment to notice. “Hey, Mister Fish! Bad Fishy, get out of there!” He lightly slapped the griffin’s neck, trying to get him out. “What do you want?”

The griffin pulled out, expression frozen, its beak stuffed with feathergrass.

“Hey! Mister Fish, drop!”

Panicked, the griffin began chewing faster, jamming its head back into the pack. 

They wobbled through the air in the general direction of the beach, the griffin trying to keep eating and keep its head away from Lazarus, as the demon tried to control their flight and keep his new stock from being eaten. Lilith clung on for dear life and laughed breathlessly, the two a perfect comedy act.

“Come on Fishy, you know those aren’t for you!” An angry squawk. “Because your fish are at home!” A soft trill. “Because you _said_ you weren’t hungry!” A piercing screech. “Because never had this before, you’ll give yourself a tummy ache!”

As they flew over Bonesborough and approached the beach, none of them noticed the commotion beneath them as people streamed away from the sands and a small group fought a tentacled monstrosity in the water. 

* * *

Luz gasped for air as she braced her hands on her knees, looking over at the kraken still glaring at them and half dragged up on the shore. Willow stood before it, great vines sprouting from beneath her and her eyes glowing green as she held the tentacles off, but they were all flagging. 

“Come on, you can do it! Luz, Luz, you’re the guy! If you don’t do it, we’ll all die!” cheered King ‘helpfully’, from his place further up shore. Leo had carefully placed the rainbow clip at his feet and howled along happily, uncomprehending of the danger and just having a wonderful time. 

A pink fireball struck the kraken from the side, Amity distracting it as Willow recovered herself. Eda and Gus hustled over to Luz, the boy looking a little shaky. He’d struck the greatest blow so far, a huge illusory sword swiping off a length of tentacle Eda’s size, but it had taken a lot out of him. 

“How ya holding up kiddo?” asked Eda, running a hand through her hair. There was going to be sand in there for weeks. 

“Oh, you know, it’s fine, not gonna die, all is good,” said Luz breathlessly, waving an unconcerned hand. 

Eda snorted. “We’ve handled worse than this. Though this thing is pretty mad.” She grinned at that. “Again, nice shot Dweebus.”

“I aim to please.”

Another roar from the water caught their attention, Amity quickly dashing back out of range. Eda’s grip tightened on her staff. “Come on Luz, back into it!” 

Energised by watching her girlfriend fight – _She’s so graceful, it’s like an anime. How can you be pretty when you fight?_ – Luz straightened up and moved forwards, stopping only when a new sort of screech split the air.

* * *

High above, the griffin suddenly stopped chewing. It pulled its head out of the bag, feathergrass strands stuck to the side of its beak, and made an odd face.

Lazarus paled. “Oh dear.”

* * *

“Kid, what are you staring a- what the heck is a griffin doing here? And why is it flying so weird?”

* * *

“Willow, get down!”

“Thanks Amity! You- is that a griffin?”

* * *

“Lazarus, why is he shuddering?”

* * *

“Eda, is that Lilith up there?”

* * *

“Cover your eyes Waterlily, this is not gonna be pretty!”

* * *

“Huh… huh….. HUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRKKKKK!”

* * *

Everyone froze. The two witchlings in the water, the three standing up on the beach. The demon, the puppy. The watching witch, the big chef. Even the relieved griffin. All of them froze and watched silently as the great mass of partially digested gunk sailed majestically through the air to splatter all over the kraken’s body.

After a long, quiet moment a great shudder started, rippling from the very tips of the kraken’s hooked tentacles, up past every sucker, to the main core of its big, slimy body. A terrible, grating yell echoed from its hidden mouth, and even garbled through the screeching tone and the bubbling water, all the onlookers could make out the shouted word.

“EEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!”

Shaking and shuddering, the massive, wriggling body of the kraken rapidly retreated, tentacles slithering back into the water as it propelled itself back up to the sandbar. It rapidly scrubbed at itself as it went before heaving itself up and over the ridge and back into the open ocean on the other side, shaking a curled up tentacle in their general direction. 

All of them watched in stunned shock before the sound of Eda’s cackling, hysterical laughter rent the air.

* * *

The warm rays of the setting sun reflected off a glistening kraken tentacle, slowly turning on a spit over a bonfire. Fully half was gone already, and a very sleepy and satisfied Mister Fish lay nearby. Lazarus slowly turned the handle of the spit, keeping up a steady stream of instruction to Gus as the witch assisted with the spices. King, full almost to bursting but loving the demon’s cooking, marched up to demand another slice.

Leodoris scampered about the feet of the witches as they all sat around talking, either in the sand or on a few wooden benches Willow had helpfully provided. Lilith spoke warmly with the plant witch, giving her pointers she’d learned from some of the higher-level plant coven members. 

Luz sat nestled in between Eda on one side and Amity on the other, with her girlfriend’s hand entwined with hers. The older witch still snorted with laughter from time to time as she replayed one of her new favourite memories, but otherwise she was enjoying the relaxing night air. 

_I think the last time I had a beach bonfire I wouldn’t have been much older than these two_ , she thought, casting an amused eye down at the two snuggling teenagers. _Ah, young love._ Her smile grew wicked. _Of course, in my case it wasn’t exactly love. Heh, I’ll tell ‘em when they’re older._

Luz let her head drop to Amity’s shoulder, smiling gently. She was warm, pleasantly tired, and holding her favourite girl in the world. It got better when she felt Amity press a gentle kiss to her hair. “Feeling pretty tired, huh cutie?” There was no teasing to the name, just warmth. Thankfully Amity kept her voice low.

Luz pulled back slightly to look at Amity properly. “Yeah, but it’s the best kind of tired ever.” She leant in and kissed her, pulling back with a smile. “Today has been awesome.” A soft bark caught their attention as Leo came up before them, standing on its back legs as it tried to climb up into Amity’s lap. The laughing witchling leant down to help him up as Luz grinned, reaching up to gently touch the glowing, rainbow clip slid carefully into her hair. 

_Love Tickle!_ Thought the happy, tired little puppy, as he curled up and flopped down on Amity’s lap, eyes sliding sleepily closed. _Love mamí._ Amity gasped, but that was nothing compared to Luz.

The human’s face froze, locking up. Amity watched in slow motion as her expression crumpled, tears growing in her eyes as she stared down at the oblivious puppy. 

“Luz, I-“

Amity barely got two words out before Luz surged towards her, wrapping her arms tightly around Amity’s shoulders even as she was careful not to jostle Leodoris too much, her head dipping into the crook of Amity’s neck as she drew in a shuddering breath. Amity quickly returned her embrace, shooting a bewildered look at Eda. The Owl Lady smiled sadly back, placing a hand on Luz’s shoulder and squeezing gently.

“You did good, kid. Both of you. You almost made it.” The wise Owl Lady had hoped that they could get through the day but had been prepared for this for a while now.

“Luz, I’m here for you.” Amity whispered softly to her girlfriend, trying to will her warmth into the shuddering girl clinging to her. “It’s okay, I’m here. We can get through this. Please don’t be sad…”

“Sad?” 

Luz’s head popped back up, and her expression was complicated. Tears streaked down her cheeks, and her eyes were red as they focused on Amity. Everyone had turned to watch, feeling for their friend. Lazarus excused himself and walked over to Mister Fish to give them some privacy, and King walked right up to Luz and gently clung to her shorts.

“I’m not… I’m not sad.” She breathed in deeply again, scrubbing at her eyes. “I don’t know how I feel. You’ve all done _so much_ for me today, you worked so hard to… to distract me, to keep me from thinking about… about…” 

“It’s okay, sweetie,” said Eda, wanting to spare her daughter the pain.

“No. It’s not.” Luz’s voice was watery, but firm. “But that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay. The portal is gone. I… I can’t go home.” She gulped and forced out the next words. “I can’t see my _mamí_.”

Willow had both hands clasped to her mouth, and Gus had an anguished look on his face. Lilith and Eda shared a look of unbearable sadness, and Amity was at a complete loss for words. King leant forwards to gently press his head to Luz’s legs.

It was Leodoris that broke the silence. The puppy slowly lifted his head, blinking sleepily as his little glyph collar glowed. _Mamí?_

A tremulous smile broke through Luz’s tears.

“And that’s okay too. Because I have the strongest witch on the Isles helping me.” She squeezed Eda’s hand. “The two strongest,” she corrected, with a smile at Lilith. The older witch smiled back, huffing out a soft laugh. “And the cutest and smartest.” She turned to Amity, the witchling’s ears flushing pink and twitching slightly. “And the best plant witch there is, and illusion master.” Her friends smiled right back. “I’ve even got royalty on my side.” She dropped a hand to King’s head, gently patting him as he looked back up at her. “I’m not alone. I’m… I’m the least alone I’ve ever been. So it’s okay.”

She wiped at her eyes again, and there was a spark of her old optimism shining through again. “Because even if I can’t see my _mamí_ , I’ve got a family right here. And I know that…” She trailed off before smiling softly at Amity. “We can fix this together.”

The moment lasted right up until King burst into tears, flinging himself into Luz’s lap to embrace her. Gus was half a step behind, and Willow and Amity. Leo pressed into the embrace, excited by all the nearby people, and even the Clawthornes stepped close, smiling at the group. Right up until hands snaked out and drew them in as well. Eda only put up a token resistance, and Lilith didn’t even bother with that.

In the centre of the group, surrounded by her new friends and family, Luz let the tears come. It was alright. It was sad… but it was a good sad. They could do this. They could fix this together. _I love all of them so much._

Amity made sure to squeeze extra tight, before her eyes shot wide open. _I think I love her._

* * *

Odalia Blight let out a tired sigh as she softly closed the manor’s great, front door behind her. She shrugged out of her cloak, hanging it up as she ran a hand through her hair. The kicked antlion hill of the Isles after the whole “petrify the Owl Lady” ordeal had her and her husband run off their feet.

As if the thought had summoned him, Alador came to greet her from another room, a book in hand and his finger holding his place. His cloak was off, and the top laces of his tunic were undone. She could tell how rough his day had been by how many he had released. It was a two-lace day. He had evidently been as overworked as she was.

After a careful look around to ensure they had some privacy, she leant against his chest with a tired groan as he embraced her.

“You too?” he rumbled.

“This morning I had a council meeting that lasted for _four hours_ that could have been a raven call. That little bint Kikimora was there for twenty minutes!”

Alador hummed softly. “It would appear I had the easier time of it then. Though I _was_ called to the museum to discuss some of our family’s pieces that are on display. Which reminds me…”

There was an odd tone to her husband’s voice, and Odalia tilted her head back to look at him curiously. The tall man smiled down at her conspiratorially.

“You’ll never guess who I saw there.”

* * *

Coming in a few weeks, the next installment in Rainbow Hair Clip: **Frostfire  
  
Author's Note - We are currently looking for more artists to get involved in the next story of the Rainbow Hair Clip Project!**

* * *

DELETED SCENE

“Hey, who are those guys?”

“Oh, that’s the beachguard coven. They’re here just in case anyone gets into trouble in the water.”

“Wow, there’s a whole coven for that?”

“Actually they’re a subset of the oracle coven. They use oracle magic to figure out where people are going to be in danger, so they can be there right away.”

“Why don’t they just stop it before it happens?”

“You can’t change time, if they predict that it will happen then it will happen no matter what they do. So they just make sure to be there the second they can. They leave straight away, but they don’t go too fast just in case they get there too quickly.”

“So they just…?”

“Run in slow motion, yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we reach the end of Part 3. I hope you all enjoyed Puppy Love, it was very sweet to write. It was nice to just let them be happy and have a good time, and I was able to advance some subplots I've been working on. I am especially eager to hear what people thought of this chapter!
> 
> Once again I am very thankful for my two awesome pre-readers. You're fantastic and you know it.
> 
> And here are my fantastic artist credits. As stated in the note above, we are currently looking for more artists to get involved in the next story, so please comment if you're interested!  
> Kraken Attack (Call me Jeff) - Thomathy  
> Kraken Attack II (Mr Grombletombus was my father) - Rezzmi (@RezzDrawthings) - https://twitter.com/RezzDrawthings?s=09
> 
> I'll see you all in a few weeks for Frostfire! At time of publishing, it is currently sitting (unedited) at 55k words.


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